A Mended Family
by milomeepit
Summary: ('You really shouldn't hate him. He's not so bad.' Gumball said. I glared at him. He shrugged. 'Worst comes to worst, we can always use ducktape.') If Marceline really hates her older brother, what happens when Gumball shows up at the Candy Kingdom in Ooo with the other Aaa people?
1. You're Kidding Me, Right Bonnibel?

_**WARNING: If you don't read boring author stuff at the start, feel free to skip over to the story, there's nothing too important below.**_

Allright. I _did _start an Adventure Time fiction, but kind of freaked out and abandoned ship when I lost my writing book, because I usually write down on paper, then edit as I type, then post, blah blah blah. But I have recently discovered Gumceline, and as there is far too little of it on this site, I'm gonna try my hand at it. (Without writing books :D)

Chapter One

Marceline's P.O.V.

"Yeah, whatever, Finn. I'm kinda busy at the moment." I said off-handedly into the phone, staring down at the picture on my computer screen, scolding myself silently for nearly drooling at the picture Bonni had emailed me.

"Okay. So, it's cool if I just drop a rock on his head?" He asked, refering to the fact of Ash, my ex, attacking his house because he thoroughly believed that Finn had stolen me from him.

"Kay. Gotta go. Bye." I hung up before he could say anything more. I immedietly rang Bonni.

"Hello?" She answered primly.

"Hey, Bubblehead." I said cheerfully, and her royal manner dissapeared in an instant.

"Oh, hi Marcy. What's up? Did you get the pictures that I emailed you of my cousin and his friends?"

"Uh… yeah. Looks like the two of us have a common enemy." I mumbled awkwardly.

"Who? The Ice Queen?" She sounded mildly alarmed.

"Nah, I could never hate Simon's sister…" I thought out loud.

"Who?" I hadn't revealed my true relationship with the Ice King to any of the others.

"Oh, uh, never mind. Not her. _Marshall Lee_." I hissed his name.

"What do you have against him?"

"He's my jerkface, obnoxouis, vain, stupid, rude older brother." I spat.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few moments as my mouth stopped foaming. "Uh, then I _probably _shouldn't say this… but they're already here. They got an early ferry over from Aaa." Bonni said in a tiny voice. "They're sleeping in the Candy Kingdom in some of the guest rooms."

I roared, "_WHAT?! _You _are _kidding, aren't you, Bonnibel?"

"Uh… no. Worse news; I was kidding when I said they fought all the time. I mean, they do, but… they're f-friends." She stuttered. "Best buds, really."

"Thanks. A. Whole. Freaking. Lot. _DUMMY!_" I yelled, hanging up and throwing my phone across the room. I flopped onto my couch, and winced slightly at the feel of it. I thought better of it and floated over to my computer again.

I stared at the picture onscreen. Prince Jerricho Gumball, constantly called 'Bubba' as a nickname, was smiling out from onscreen, an arm looped over a considerably younger-looking Bonni, at what looked like something crossed between a wedding, a Christmas party, and a birthday party.

Just when I thought I'd gotten some common ground with him, it turned out his was bosom buds with stupid Marshall. He was probably every bit an unsensitive, name-calling butthead as Marshall.


	2. I Love Death Threats In The Morning

Chapter Two

Gumball's P.O.V.

I yawned and stretched. I looked around the room, feeling like I was being watched. "If you've snuck into my room again to try and scare me, it's not gonna work. _Marshall_." I added.

I heard an audible hiss from the other side of the room. "Just like I thought. You're an obnixiuos butt like _him_." A girl's voice muttered accusingly.

"Huh?" I blinked. "W-who's there?" I stuttered, yanking the blanket back over myself, seeing I was only wearing boxer shorts.

A girl popped into view a few inches from my face, and I scrambled back in surprise, yelping as my head banged into the wall at the head of the bed. "Gah! Y-you're a vampire. Like-"

"Say his name again and I'll rip out your spine and use it to tie you to the nearest flagpole. Capiche?" She growled, and I nodded quickly.

"Capiche." I gulped.

"Yes, I am a vampire. But not like that drivel of a snotball Marshall, _clear_?" I nodded again. "Mention this to anyone-" She drew her finger across her throat "-I got my eye on you, Gum-breath." She flew out of the window.

Seconds later, Bubblegum walked in. "Hey, Gumball, are you okay? I heard you yell out." She offered.

"Uh… I'm fine. This crazy… never mind. I banged my head." I changed my story without missing a beat, remembering the crazy vampire girl's threat.

As I got out of bed and dived behind a curtain to get changed, I asked her casually if there were any other vamps around.

"There's Marceline…" she replied hesitantly.

My head jerked up. "Marshall's sister? The crazy, rebellious psycho one he always complains about?"

"Watch your mouth, Bubba. She's one of my best friends." I could hear the wariness in her voice.

"My deepest apologies, my dear cousin." I said theatrically, bowing low to her as I buttoned up my collar and came out from behind the curtain.

"Apology accepted." Bubblegum mumbled. She then brightened up. "There are still a few chances…" She murmered under her breath. She spun to me. "Gumball, get all of your friends and meet me down in the courtyard at about… 9.30, shall we say?" She dived out the door.

Marshall's P.O.V.

"Why are you getting me up so ridiculously early, Bubba?" I groaned as Gumball dragged my covers off of me, yelped and threw them back on.

"Dude! Pajamas!" He looked scandlised.

I laughed. "Aw, go bake a cake, Bubba. I'm gonna get dressed. I trust Fionna is already up?"

"Yup." He turned and left, closing the door behind him.

I grabbed some clothes from the dresser and glanced out between the curtains before I got dressed. I saw P.B., Finn, Fionna's second cousin, and-

I threw on my clothes in a haste of fury and dived down the hallway, seething. I rounded a corner to see Bubba staring out the window interestedly at the others setting up the brunch-party thing in the courtyard.

"How could you not tell me _she_ was gonna be here?!" I yelled.

"Hey, I didn't even know until this morning!" He said, raising his hands in defence.

"Whatever, traitor." I snapped, shoving past him to go back to my room. "I'm going back to bed."

He grabbed my arm, a steely resolve in his eyes. "Marshall Lee the Vampire King, you listen to me, and you listen well. My little cousin, who I_ always_ looked after, who was more like a _sister_ to me, who helped me with _everything_ she could, has invited me to her home, I decided to bring you along too, she is delighted to find out, and she _threw a party_ for us. You are gonna go down there, you are gonna shut up about Marceline, whether she's a brat or not, be civil and have fun, for my cousin's sake, for Fionna's sake, and your _mortal_ wellbeing." He ordered in a deadpan voice. "Got it, dude?"

I shrugged. "Whatever." I took off past him and flew down to the courtyard to meet whatever bombs were gonna blow up there.


	3. A Pleasure To Meet You, Miss Abadeer

Chapter Three

Marceline's P.O.V.

I saw Marshall come out of the castle, grumbling. I 'accidentally' tripped and spilled bright blue punch over his red plaid shirt.

"Brat." He snarled.

I poked my tounge out at him. "Whatever, jerkface."

Bubblegum gave me look somewhere between pleading and if-you-don't-stop-I'll-feed-you-to-the-Morrow-bird.

I ended up hanging around Fionna and Gumball for most of the 'party', talking animatedly with Fionna about music and shooting weary looks at Gumball, who kept glancing at me while he and Finn were talking.

I caught his eye once, and he blushed like crazy. I smirked, deciding to query, if nothing else to freak out Bubba a little more for a laugh.

"Finn, I think I hear a princess that needs rescuing." I interrupted, pointing to Bonni, who was being stared down by Marshall as she was frantically trying to explain my presence, no doubt. He got the message and went jogging over to her.

I turned to Gumball. "So, you like what you see, Pinkface?" I smirked again, gesturing to myself.

He blushed bright red. "Well… ah, I… I…"

"It's all good, Bubba. You mind if I call you that?" I floated upside down, my hair brushing the ground at his feet.

"By all means." He said, obviously surprised by the change in my behaviour.

"Before you ask, no, that wasn't my evil twin this morning. I just heard about Marshall coming last night – you know how our sibling relationship or, rather, lack thereof is – so I kinda freaked. Sorry for threatening to kill you. How's about we start over?" I flipped right-side up and landed. I held out my hand. "Marceline Abadeer, Queen of the Vampires of Ooo."

"Prince Jerricho Gumball of the Candy Kingdom of Aaa." He smiled, taking my hand. I went to shake it, but he bent to one knee and kissed my hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Abadeer."

_That_, I had definatly not been expecting, especially from one of Marshall's cohorts. "Uh, um, the pleasure's all mine." I said awkwardly, horribly aware of the fact that all of the others were staring at us. "Call me Marceline, please."

"I don't really care what you call me, as long as it's not an insult or a swear word." He shrugged. Dammit, I liked this guy more by the minute.

Marshall was steaming over. Fionna attempted to grab his arm, but he broke free of her easilly. It was a valiant effort, though.

"What the glob do you think you're doing, _Bubba_?" He ground out through his teeth.

"I'm making the aquiantance of a lovely girl I just met; whom you had led me to believe was a deviant graffiti artist with multiple piercings, seven boyfreinds and a passion for beheading people with a stolen axe that she converted into a bass guitar." Gumball said stonily.

Ouch. Kid had guts, I'd give him that. Wait. Marshall made me sound that bad to the others over in Aaa? Bastard.

"She pretty much was last time I saw her." He snorted.

"Hey!" I interjected. "I've only ever had one boyfriend, who I broke up with because he was a jerk. I've never pierced anything but my ears, or graffitied outside of my own notebooks, stolen an axe or beheaded anyone! I admit to being a deviant and converting an axe into a guitar, but nothing else there is right!" I protested.

"Marshall, nick off." Gumball commanded. "I'm kind of getting tired of you constantly insulting your sister, and now digging into me just because I didn't hate her on sight. Get lost."

Marshall sneered at us as he flew off. "Yeah. See if you still say that in a few days, Bubba."


	4. Recon

_Hey, sorry the chapters are so short, but I'm writing this in the wee hours of the morning. Right now it's about 3.06am, so I apologise if you don't like it._

Chapter Four

Gumball's P.O.V.

"Sorry Marshall's being such a buttface." I said to Marceline, who looked stunned

"I… nobody's ever stood up for me like that before." She whispered, brows creasing together. "Why did you?"

Well, since the party had started, after Marceline and Marshall had decided to ignore each other, I'd been looking at both of them. I'd noticed Marceline laughing and mucking around with Fionna, and I'd noticed that she was actually quite enchanting. With her long black hair, dark eyes and grey-blue-ish skin, she was a very pretty girl. Along with the fact that she could- obviuosly- stand up for what she believed in, and yet relax and have fun, I was quite sure that I was possibly crushing on my best friend's much-despised little sister.

"I… well, Marshall always puts you down, and you're nothing like how he describes you, so someone he trusted needed to point that out to him." I said, swallowing.

She smiled, and my brain fried ever so slightly and my heart sped up a little, which I was certain that she could hear, what with being a vampire and all. "Thanks, dude." She hugged me. Just a friendly, thank-you hug. A friendly, thank-you hug that nearly made my head bust open.

She laughed and walked off to talk to Bubblegum, humming a tune that sounded eerily like something Marshall whistled all the time.

I sat down next to Fionna, stunned. "Did that actually just happen?" I breathed.

"Yup." She confirmed. "You got into a fight with Marshall and got hugged by his sister, who it's obvious you have a thing for."

I turned pink…er than usual. "I do not!" I said hotly.

"Liar."

"I am not lying! I do not 'have a thing' for Marceline, okay, Fionna?"

"Whatever you say, Bubba." She nodded earnestly, eyes wide.

"I'm not gonna hear the end of this for a while, am I?" I groaned.

"Not a chance." Cake confirmed. "Those were definite goo-goo eyes."

Fionna's P.O.V.

Well, after Cake and I finished grilling PG, we scampered over to say hi to Marceline.

"What do you two spies want?" She smiled.

"Reconing to make an attempt at match-making, ma'am!" I reported as I saluted her.

She shook her head slowly. "Nah. He's a cute guy, but the only types who ever go after me are either the snobby rich kid types or the hardcore punk types. Not the nice, normal, more feminine kind of guy." She smiled sadly. "Not sayin' I wouldn't, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah." I said quietly, suddenly understanding Marceline a lot more. She obviously felt like an outcast, even in her own family, so how could this guy, who she barely knew, even tolerate her, let alone like her back? I touched her shoulder. "Hey, its okay, Marceline." I heard myself saying. "Gumball… he accepts who you are for you. He likes people for who they really are, not for who they pretend to be. And I've talked to you, and you're funny and nice, and you're real pretty, too. So don't give up. You hear me? _Don't ever give up_. Follow your heart, because, no matter where it leads you, that'll be where you belong." I swallowed. "You know what I mean?"

Marceline looked me full in the face, and I realised she was crying. "Thanks Fionna. Thank you, so much." She scrubbed tears away from her eyes.

I squeezed her hand. "Good luck with Bubba, Marcy."

"Thanks… Fi." She looked very tired, but grateful at the same time.


	5. I Remember You

Chapter Five

Marceline's P.O.V.

After my talk with Fionna, and her speech about Gumball accepting, I had something I hadn't had for a long time swelling up inside me.

Hope.

I stuck around with the two of them for a while before they nudged me in Gumball's direction. He was in the middle of baking a cake, and they shoved me through the door and shut it quickly behind me.

"Huh? Fionna, is that you?" Gumball asked, rooting around on the top shelf of a cupboard, balanced precariously on the top of a box on a stool on a chair.

"Uh, no. It's Marceline."I said in a 'duh' tone. I rubbed my neck with one hand, cupping my elbow in my hand, worrying that he was gonna fall.

"Wha- Marceline, what are you doing – ack!" He yelped as he lost his balance swinging around to see me, and the pile he was on tipped over, and he dropped the flour he'd just retrieved, creating a huge dustcloud.

I dived forward and caught him, scooping him out of the way just before the rest of the stuff crashed down where he'd landed. Had he been lying there, he probably would have been crushed, and made of gum or not, there is only a certain extent to which somethingcan be squished before it dies.

"Are you okay?" I asked breathlessly.

He nodded, shaking slightly. "Just had the plop scared outta me. I'm fine."

"Oh, good."

We lay on the ground for a few moments longer, blinking and staring at each other like total dopes.

"Uh… we should probably clean this up…" Gumball gestured at the tangle of things he'd been standing on.

"Y-yeah. We should." I stammered.

I floated around, putting stuff back on shelves as Gumball righted the chairs and put the box back in the corner. I grabbed another thing of flour and bought it down. "Uh… you want this?" I offered it to him.

"Nah. My muffins are kinda dead." He waved a hand airily at the counter. "If you leave Moon Rock Muffin mix out for too long, it goes all hard."

"Oh, sorry." I looked at my feet.

"No, it's not your fault." He said, surprised. "Why in the world would you think I'd blame you?"

"I… I'm so used to my dad ignoring me, and Simon not remembering me, and Marshall blaming me for everything…" I felt a tear roll off of the end of my nose. "I'm not really used to people taking care of me, and being nice to me. I mean, Finn and Jake are nice, but they're just kids. Bonnibel is more upper-class. BMO's a video game. LSP's a diva. I just never had anyone really being nice to me, and helping me with stuff before." I, with no warning, started bawling like a baby.

Gumball looked taken aback, and I figured for a minute that my emotional outburst had been enough, that he was gonna turn tail and run from my problems like so many other people.

But he didn't. He blinked for a moment, then walked up to me and touched my shoulder, and the next thing I knew, he holding me against his chest, me sobbing into his purple collar-thingy, leaving dark splotches on it. His hand stroked my hair, and he was murmering comforting words in my ear. I started shaking a little, partly from shock, partly from emotion, and partly because I was freezing cold.

"It's okay. I'll take care of you, Marcy. I promise, okay? I promise." He said softly, kissing the top of my head. He started softly singing a song.

I jerked my head back to look at him. "Where'd you learn that song?!" I asked my eyes wide.

"Uh… I think I might've heard Ice King singing it or something. Or was it Ice Queen? Well, whatever. It was one of them."

I licked my dry lips and began singing.

'_Marceline, is it just you and me_

_In the wreckage of the world?_

_That must be so confusing_

_For a little girl._

_And I know you're going to_

_Need me here with you,_

_But I'm losing myself and I'm afraid_

_You're going to lose me, too…'_

Gumball joined in with me.

'_This magic keeps me alive_

_But it's making me crazy._

_And I need to save you but_

_Who's going to save me?_

_Please forgive me for_

_Whatever I do,_

_When I don't_

_Remember you.'_

I broke off. "How… how did you know it, though?" I asked.

"I get kidnapped enough by the Ice Queen that when she has the Ice King over, I know that he always sings it to himself while he's wandering around. I just sorta picked it up. When I asked him about it, he just said, 'Ask the vampire.' So I did, I asked Marshall, and that was actually the first time I ever heard about you." Gumball explained softly.

I buried my face in his chest again. "Thanks, Bubba." I whispered. "For everything."


	6. What Is With This Girl?

Chapter Six

Gumball's P.O.V.

Things became slightly awkward there when Bubblegum and Marshall burst in, arguing loudly. They froze when they saw us, Marceline's tear-streaked face, and flour dusting over everything and my protective embrace around her just before we snapped apart.

"What the…" They said in unison. Bubblegum looked rather startled, but pleased at the same time. Marshall looked like someone had stuck a knife in his back for a minute, and then just shrugged.

"Bubba, it's you choice if you decide to fall for a deamon, but if she turns out to be the devil in disguse, don't come crying back to me." He grinned at me.

"Th-thanks, Marsh-" Marceline started, but Marshall cut her off with a glare.

"Wasn't talking to you, you stupid brat." He scowled and stormed out.

"Uh, I'll, um, leave." Bubblegum pointed at the door and quietly let herself out.

Marceline looked close to tears again. I put a comforting arm around her, and she leaned into me. "Its okay, Marcy." I whispered. "It's all okay."

"I just want him to like me. To accept me as his sister. Ugh!" She yelled, pulling away from me and kicking the wall. "Stupid Marshall! I hate him! He's a self-centred, obnoxious prick!"

"You really shouldn't hate him. He's not so bad." I said. She glared at me.

I shrugged. "Worst comes to worst, we cand always use ducktape to stick your family back together."

She smiled a little. "You know what, Science Boy? Upon doing some of my own experiments, I had come to the folowing conclusions; One that you can be utterly ridiculous. Two, that I have a huge crush on you. Three, either you've got a crush on me, or you're yanking my chain, which is usually lethal to the person pulling." She joked.

I smiled and touched her cheek, brushing flour off of her face, and she, with no warning whatsoever, stretched up on tiptoes and kissed me on the lips. I blinked in surprise. How many more ways was my brain going to get fried today? From her popping up in my bedroom with death threats to kissing me and giggling in less than twelve hours… What was with this girl?!

I decided, as I hugged her again, that whatever it was, I liked it.


	7. Bros?

Chapter Seven

Finn's P.O.V.

Something weird was definetly going on. Marceline was acting all weird and dreamy; Fionna and Cake were bouncing around like wackos. That Marshall Lee dude was sulking more than ever, PB was all giggly and gossiping with Jake and Lady and LSP suddenly, and PG was really happy and less… I dunno, just less… depressed, I guess. It seemed me and Lord Monochromicorn were the only two not in the loop of what was happening.

I asked Marceline later and she laughed, happier than I'd ever seen her. "Finn, I'll explain when you're older, 'kay, Buddy?" She fist-bumped me.

"Uh… okay." I said uncertainly.

She looked up, seemingly startled by something behind me. "Gotta go bye." She blurted out quickly, dissapearing by turning invisible.

I glanced behind me to see Marshall, looking like he was about to murder someone. He glared at me. "Where'd she go?"

"I-I dunno." I shrugged.

"Typical. The little brat doesn't even tell her friends where she nicks off to." He muttered, and I felt indignant on Marcy's behalf.

"Hey, what is your beef with her? She's a totally algebraic dame." I pointed out.

"It's something I'm not gonna share with a _mortal_." He said condescendingly.

"Fi's a mortal. You talk to her heaps. You seem to be really good friends."

"That's different!" He shouted.

"Yikes, calm down, Floaty." I narrowed my eyes. "Seriously, why can't you just be nice to your sister? She's trying really hard to get your approval, and you just act like she's the kind of hipster doofus you seem to be, but worse."

"Whatever. She ruined something, so now I'm ruining something for her."

"What? What did she ruin?" I blinked. Marceline could be a little over-the-top, but she wasn't destructive or anything.

"My relationship with my mom!" He roared suddenly. "Me and Mom were perfectly happy until she started going to school and stuff, and whenever I tried to hang out with her, 'Not now, Marshall, I'm helping _Marceline_,' 'I'm making something for _Marceline_,' 'Quiet, you'll wake up _Marceline_.'"

Woah. This guy had _serious _mommy issues. "Dude, she's trying, and you're ruining her entire life with this crap. Sure, your mom was helping her- because she was younger! Didn't you get help with that when you were little?"

"Yeah, and Marceline took it all away from me!"

"No, _you_ took it all away from you by being a jealous older brother. Dude, I didn't even know my mom. I was found in the wild and raised by dogs! So cry me a river, build me a bridge, and _get over it_!"

Marshall just froze. I silently begged God to release me from my sins and let me hava a happy afterlife in the crystal dimension.

"You know what, Pipsqueak? You're actually right. I guess I'll stop being so horrible to her." I relaxed, and a devillish grin spread across his face. "I'll take it all out on you instead."

I squeaked, "What?!"

He burst out laughing. "I'm kidding, you idiot!"

"Uh… bros?" I offered my fist.

"Bros, dude." He bumped it.


	8. The Gumdrop Garden Muse

Chapter Eight

Gumball's P.O.V.

"_Memories… misty, watercolour memories… like the corners of my mind…"_

I stopped walking. I was wandering down one of the paths that led throught the gumdrop rosebush garden. I heard the angelic voice coming from behind a wall that came roughly up to my shoulder. I stood there for a few minutes until the song ended. I sat with my back against the wall; eyes closed, and listened to the girl's voice as it sang out with something.

'_Sorry I don't treat you like a goddess,_

_Is that what you want me to do?_

_Sorry I don't treat you like you're perfect_

_Like all your little loyal subjects do._

_Sorry I'm not made of sugar_

_And I'm not sweet enough for you._

_Is that why you always avoid me?_

_That must be such an inconvinience to you._

_Well, I'm just your problem._

_I'm just your problem._

_It's like I'm not_

_Even a person, am I?_

_I'm just your problem._

_Well, I-I-I-I-I shouldn't_

_Have to justify what I do._

_I-I-I-I-I shouldn't_

_Have to prove anything to you._

_I'm sorry that _

_I exist,_

_I forget that landed me on_

_Your blacklist._

_But I-I-I-I-I shouldn't have_

_To be the one that makes up with you_

_So, why do I want to?_

_Why do I want to…?'_

I sprang up to see who this wonderful muse was, backed up and took a running jump at the wall. I cleared it by centimeters, congratulated myself silently, hit the ground running and sprawled on my face, slamming into the ground at somewhere about twenty-five miles an hour.

I rolled onto my back, rubbing my jaw. I opened my eyes to see a very familiar, very shocked, very pissed off girl standing above me.

"Gumball?" She said in disbelief.

"Marceline." I grinned, spitting out a tooth.


	9. Traitor!

Chapter Nine

Marceline's P.O.V.

I blinked in surprise. "You were spying on me?" I said angrily.

"No! Well, I heard you singing, and-"

"Did Marshall send you?" I asked flatly "Yeah, that makes sense. He probably wants to wreck my life even further, so he sent his buddy to charm me into opening up my shell so he can stick a screwdriver into it, didn't he?"

"No, I-" He tried again, face going pinker than usual.

"I knew you were too good to be true!" I yelled, backing away from him. "No person is just naturally that nice!"

"Marcy… Marceline, I'm not a spy, or an informant, or a decoy, or anything like that, I swear. Please believe me." He pleaded.

I scoffed. "I'm not making the same mistake with you that I did with Ash. He got close to me, and I got burned. Bad. I don't care if I have to move in with Finn, or Flame Princess, or, hell, I'd even stick around with LSP to get away from you three. I talk to guys, guys hurt me. That's the way it goes. I'm not gonna let you hurt me, or Marshall. I'm in it for me. Looking out for number one and everyone else can go get screwed. You hear me, Gumball? _Go get screwed_!" I yelled hysterically.

I spun on my heel. Gumball grabbed my arm. "Marceline, please just calm down for a minute! I get that you're upset because of Marshall and Ash, whoever that is, but I'm not either of them!" I looked at him from beneath my lashes, hiding behind my hair. He looked panicked, and rumpled, and his face was bleeding from where he'd hit the ground, and there were tears threatening to spill over in his eyes.

"Gumball," I said evenly, "Let go of my arm."

He tightened his grip, and I reached over and pinched his wrist, making him gasp in pain and his hand open in reflex. I flew upwards, trying to drown out the plaintive calls from the crying candy prince below me as I felt my heart aching in my chest.


	10. Bake Something With Fionna?

Chapter Ten

Bubblegum's P.O.V.

"G-Gumball?" I asked, concerned, as I waved a hand in front of his face. I'd found him leaning against one of the walls in one of the gardens, tears pouring down his face as he stared into the sky, hands dangling limply by his sides. "Are… are you okay?"

"No. I'm not okay." He choked out.

"What happened?" I asked. I got no reply. "Do you want to come inside?"

He stood up, straightened his hot pink shirt and shuffled inside. I followed him, and was surprised when he started clumping up the stairs to his room. "Aren't you going to have any dinner?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Well, do you want to watch a movie with us? It's one of your favourites, _Heat Signature_…"

"Not in the mood."

"Jake has a couple of Card Wars sets…"

"You know I never liked that game."

"You could go raid a dungeon with Finn."

"Me? Raid a dungeon while my war goose is over in Aaa? Your reality check just bounced."

"Help me with a new potion to ward off Why-wolves?"

"I'll probably stuff it up."

"Bake something with Fionna?" I pleaded, using my last resort out of desperation.

"I'm kind of not in the mood to go running out of the kitchen, yelling 'fire, fire!' at the top of my lungs while Cake goes and gets a bucket of water, and then patting Fionna on the back as the blackened cake is removed from the oven after it explodes." He gave me a look that would have made the Litch cringe a little. "Now, will you leave me alone? Between Marshall Lee and Marceline, our two _lovely _vampires, I've had a heck of a day, alright, _Bonnibel_?" I winced as he used my first name. He only ever used 'proper' names when he was really mad or exasperated. "Go bother Finn." He stomped up the stairs.

Okay, I was officially confused. I could understand Marshall giving him grief, but I thought he and Marcy had really hit it off, hadn't they?


	11. What Time Is It? THEORY TIME!

Chapter Eleven

Marshall's P.O.V.

I sat next to P.B., near one end of the table at dinner. Everyone was making noise, clattering knives and forks and spoons on bowls and plates as they talked to one other.

Fionna and Cake were sitting across from me, having a mini food fight, throwing peas at each other until P.B. told them to stop. So, they started throwing peas at her, and she gave up.

After a while, Fionna stood up, holding her glass. "If I may?" She glanced around at everyone. We all nodded.

"Go on on, Baby." Cake encouraged her.

"I just want to say that I've had a great first day here in Ooo, hanging out with Cake, Marceline, Finn and Jake. I think I speak for all four Gumball, Marshall, Cake and myself when I say that we've had an amazing time in Ooo so far. Right, guys?"

"So right, Hon." Cake nodded, smiling.

"Yeah. It's been okay." I confirmed with a toss of my head.

"High praise." Fi said dryly. "What about you, Gum- where is he?"

I glanced up to see, sure enough; Bubba was nowhere to be seen. I looked around the table and saw Marceline was nearly crying, face blotchy. My thoughts immedietly jumped to Bubba's absence.

"Ah, ahem." P.B. cleared her throat. "Gumball said he wasn't hungry, and he wasn't feeling too well, and he told me he was going to bed."

There was a noise somewhere between a sob and a bitter chuckle from Marceline as she seemed to perk up. "So, we won't see him for the rest of the night?" She said hopefully.

"N-no. We won't." P.B. stuttered slightly as she replied.

So, dinner passed by fairly painlessly. I pondered what the sitiation was. I came to a few theories:

Bubba had hurt Marceline, and she got scared.

He'd hurt her and she'd gotten pissed at him.

She'd accidentally hurt him (It wouldn't be deliberatly, because she _did_ really like him) and was really upset because of it.

They'd had a fight and she was sad.

Well, whatever way it played, I was gonna go have a few words with my darling little sister after dinner.


	12. We've Seen Enough

Chapter Twelve

Marceline's P.O.V.

After dinner, I was floating up above the doorway, planning a way to scare Finn to cheer myself up. Marshall flew up to me and cocked his head. "What happened to you?" He asked.

Wierdly enough, he actually seemed to care. Probably worried that I'd _damaged_ his _spy_. "Since when do you care?" I sniffled, my body betraying me as I remembered to the look on Gumball's face as I'd flown away.

"Come off it. I'm tryin' to be nice here!" He complained. "Now, come on. What happened?"

"Fine. If you really _have_ to know, you stupid, blunt-fanged hipster farmboy loser, Gumball and I had a fight, okay? You happy now that you've picked my brains?" I snapped.

"Yeah, actually." He started to float up stairs, but I grabbed his arm.

"Dude, Bonni mentioned that you were staying in the red guest room, which I know for a fact is waaaaaay down thattaway." I pointed in the direction of the other end of the castle.

"Duh, I'm not going to my room. I'm going to check on Bubba. C'mon." He took my hand and led me upstairs, where we floated into Gumball's room, hovering over the window.

"Why are you bringing me up-" I started, but Marshall hissed at me to turn invisible as Gumball came back in, fiddling with his collar.

He started to unbutton his shirt, but then he stopped. He looked between the clothes he was wearing and the chest of drawers in front of him a few times before groaning and flopping onto the bed. He yelled furiously into his pillow for a little bit, and then I thought maybe he'd fallen asleep, but I soon discarded that ideal when I saw his shoulders shaking. I realised he was crying and I wanted to throw up.

What was wrong with me? He had, and maybe still did, if I was _incrediblly_ lucky, really cared about me. And I'd gone on this crazy, psycho tirade on him just because he'd thought my singing was nice, stopped to listen, and then wanted to find out who was singing. I swallowed, the light grey-blue colour that remained in my face draining away. It served me right if he hated me.

"I think we've both seen enough." Marshall said softly, taking me by the elbow and leading me away as I threw one last, desperate glance back at the crying boy on the bed.


	13. Dude, Are You Okay?

Chapter Thirteen

Gumball's P.O.V.

"Dude, are you okay?" I heard Marshall say from behind me.

"No…" I answered, my voice muffled from the pillow and thick from crying. "Leave me alone to die in at least semi-peace, Marshall."

"What happened, dude? You look like you're about to explode." He sat on the bed next to me, patting my shoulder.

I moaned in quiet agony. "Marceline and I had a fight, and I don't even really know what set her off, and she took off, and now I can't stop freaking crying. I've tried everything I can think of."

"Lemon juice in the corners of your eyes?" He suggested. (Do NOT try Marshall's suggestions at home, because 99% of the time, they only apply to Candy People)

"Good idea, but I already tried that." I sniffled.

He thought for a minute. "Sit up."

"Okay…" I did.

"I apologise for this now, but it's the only thing I can think of." He said quickly, before slapping me across the face with a resounding, slightly squishy, _smack!_

I reeled for a moment, then regained what little of my composure I had left. I sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, and Marshall floated on his back, hovering slightly above the blanket.

"Isn't this normally where you say, 'I told you so'? With a smug expression, of course." I added.

"Nah. She's not a heartbreaker. She's only had one boyfreind, which she already pointed out, and she broke up with him because he was an evil jerk, even by _my_ standards."

"What'd he do?"

"Sold her teddy bear. The one she had since before she met us." He muttered.

"Before she met you? What on earth do you mean?" I asked incredulously.

"Bubba," He started, looking me dead in the eye, "Marceline isn't really my sister."


	14. Don't Flip Out

Chapter Fourteen

Marshall's P.O.V.

Bubba's jaw dropped. "Huh?" He managed to say.

"Don't flip out." I warned. "We all know what happens when a Candy Person flips out." I splayed my fingers into a starburst motion. "I better spill." I took a deep breath. "Marceline isn't my real, blood sister. You may or may not have noticed, but her bites are real scars, while mine are just birthmarks." I flicked at my neck. "Skin discolouration, that's all." I paused. "You aren't gonna flip, are you, Bubba?"

"Marshall," Bubba said, "If I was gonna flip out, it would have been when your sister gave me multiple death threats at eight in the morning."

"Whoa, what? What'd she threaten you with?"

"Well, she said 'Oh, great, he's an obnoxious butt like _him_,' him being you, I guess, and she said she'd kill me if I told anyone I'd seen her… oh, yeah. She also said that she'd rip out my spine and use it to tie me to the nearest flagpole, which didn't really bother me." He mused.

"Dude. That didn't bother you. What the flip?"

"Uh, _hello_?" He poked himself in the chest.

"Hello, _what, _exactly?" I asked exhasperatedly.

He sighed. "Marshall. Dude. What am I made of?"

"Gum…" I said slowly.

"Yeah. C'mon." He walked to one side of the room. "Stand over there." He pointed to the doorway. I did. He then flung out his arm, which stretched out beautifully across the room to land in my hand.

I blinked, feeling the smooth and slightly rubbery skin under my fingers. "No bones?" I guessed.

Bubba nodded. "No Candy Person has an endoskeleton. We all either have membranes around us or exoskeletons, depending on whether we're soft or hard candy. Your little hipster brain can under stand that, right?" He teased.

"Yeah…" I nodded slowly.

There was a soft knock on the door.

"It's open." Bubba called out.

The door swung open, and Fionna poked her head around it. "Uh… Marceline's gone cuckoo."


	15. I'm Dealing With Three-Year-Olds

Chapter Fifteen

Gumball's P.O.V.

"Cuckoo, how?" Marshall asked, eyebrows furrowed into slim black caterpillars on his forhead as he thought.

"Uh, cuckoo, as in running around laughing hysterically, banging her head on ginger brick walls and nearly breaking Finn's arm when he got within ten feet of her."

I blinked. "What the…"

Marshall merely groaned. "About once a year, Marcy has these episodes. She acts all funny, her skin goes kinda weird, and she steals anything shiny within a six-mile radius. She normally comes home for them, which I'm guessing is because she doesn't want to hurt her friends. Of course, I used to think she just did it to be annoying." He added.

"Of course _you_ would." Fionna snapped, her tone gone from bunny cutie-pie mode to kill in two seconds as she glared at him.

"Hey! I'm trying to be nice to her now!" Marshall protested,

"Yeah? Who threatened your guitar?" Fionna raised an eyebrow in obvious disbelief.

"Nobody! Finn pointed something out to me, and I had an epiphany, okay?" Marshall said tensely.

"I knew it." Fionna snorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He growled angrily.

"You're not capable of just being nice! Stupid!" She cried.

"Tomboy!"

"Hipster!"

"Catgirl!"

"Fang-face!"

"Bunny-head!"

"Emo!"

"Hyper!"

"Fossil!"

"Toddler!"

"Goth!"

"Hippie!"

"Dweeb!"

"Noob!"

"Edward!" She threw out acidly as Marshall narrowed his eyes.

"Ditziod!" He yelled; making Fionna pause for a moment, hurt flickering behind the overcast of anger in her eyes.

During this three-year-old style argument, I'd been trying to think, scratching my head. I rolled my eyes, and as Marshall finished his last insult, my eyes slitted. Marshall would later tell me that he never knew that a guy who was 80% sugar could look so _sour_.

I fished a lamp off of my bedside table and threw it at Marshall. He ducked, well practiced in dodging my blows and throws, and it went sailing over his head to hit Fionna full in the face.

As I blinked, horrified, she gave out a slight moan and collapsed backwards onto my bed.

"Why?" Marshall raised an eyebrow at me from three feet above my head.

"Two things; one, Fionna's one of our friends, and you shouldn't insult her like that, and two, you two were getting on my last nerve. C'mon, let's go see what's going on with Marceline."


	16. Fair Deal, Right?

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **__Yes, I am a Fiolee shipper. I am also a Fubblegum and (Obviously) Gumceline shipper. Don't like it, don't put hateful comments on my story, go read someone else's._

Chapter Sixteen

Fionna's P.O.V.

After P.G. …_flew_ down the hallway, Marshall floated over to me and smiled sweetly. "Call it revenge for kicking me." He hissed

I barely had time to process what he'd said before he snatched my bunny hat right off of my head and floated upwards with it.

"Hey!" I squeaked. "Marshall, stop it! It's not funny!"

"It is from here!" He replied, putting it on, deliberatly crooking a bunny ear on it as I glared at him. He started to float away, but I grabbed a nearby curtain, quickly tied it into a loop and lassoed Marshall.

I dragged him back to me. I held out my hand. "Dude. Give me my bunny hat. Or die." I said in a low voice.

He poked it into his sleeve with an expression of wide-eyed innocence. "What hat?"

I grabbed his bass off his back and mimicked him. "What guitar?" I said sweetly, holding it behind my back with one hand, keeping a hold on him with the other.

"Cut me lose and I'll give it back. Just gimmie my bass, deal?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Deal." I pulled my sword and sliced neatly through the curtains. He fastned my hat back on my head.

I glanced between him and the bass. I made my decision. With my bunny ears securely on ym head, one hand clasping the button at my chin, I took off down the hallway, pulling the bass after me, giggling.

"Hey! Fionna, stop! It's not funny!" He complained, zipping after me.

"It is from here!" I retorted as I swung around the corner. I dived in through the first door I saw, which happened to be Princess Bubblegum's lab.

I threw myself over a table just before Marshall poked his head in. "Hey, is Fionna in here?" He asked P.B.

I signalled frantically to her. Do not tell him I'm here, pleasepleasepleaseplease.

She shrugged. "Sorry. I haven't seen her. If you'll excuse me, I was on my way out." She stepped around him and out of the room.

Marshall walked in a few paces and glanced around. I held my breath. He walked over to the table I was hiding behind and turned invisible. I cursed under my breath, thinking he could look around without me noticing him.

He reappeared right in front of me. "Sup?" He hissed.

I gave a little scream. "Gah!" I yelped as I jumped back in fright, my head brushing the underside of the table.

"Bass." He held out his hand. "Give it."

I clutched it to my chest. "My bass."

He grabbed one of my bunny ears. "My hat." He countered.

"Looks like we're at a standoff." I said wearily.

He shrugged. "I can change that."

"How?" I wondered out loud.

Marshall leaned in close, a serious look on his face as he looked into my eyes.

Then, I _think_ my brain fried. I can't really remember what I was thinking, but I remember my face was bright red.

After he broke off the kiss, he slid the guitar out of my grip and dropped my hat in my lap. "Fair deal, right?"

He floated away, leaving me stunned as my fingers brushed my lips. _'Did that really just happen?'_


	17. Isn't That What You Strangle ON?

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, guys! Sorry it took me a little while to get to a computer, because SOMEBODY (My brother) had to be using his computer. Actually, the 23__rd__ of January is his birthday, so a shout out- HAPPY 18__th__, DUDE!_

Chapter Seventeen

**Fionna's P.O.V.**

It was a normal couple of days from there on out. Fairly normal, anyway.

Ice King had heard that I was 'Princess of the Why-wolves', and decided to try to capture me. Let's just say, he'll be out of commision for a little while. How am I even a princess?

**Marshall's P.O.V.**

Fi, Why-wolves are gonna adopt whoever beats them up as their prince or princess. Seriously, they will give you_ respect_ to the max. Okay?

**Fionna's P.O.V**.

Oh. Okay… but I don't know how Ice King even found out about them. Do they even have Why-wolves in Ooo? Or, What-wolves? How-wolves? Who-wolves? Where-wolves… nah, that's just stupid. Listen to how it sounds- _Where_-wolves. Seriously, that's just delusional.

But, anyway, I beat up Ice King and Queen; stopped Gumball from being kidnapped a few times, me and Cake kicked some evil butt with Finn and Jake, the works.

Cake found out something, though- there is no such thing as a Monochromicorn. _Apparently_, Lord Monochromicorn is actually a _storm_ _spirit_. Yep, that was my reaction, too.

See, his real name is _'Lord Zephyr Vortex'_, and he was –Can you… can you even call it born? - In the higher peakes of the Serpoid Mountian Ranges. See, if enough lightning strikes pass through a certain place in the air, a sentient mind grows there. It's not aware of itself, as such, but the first cloud to pass through it becomes it's 'host body'. He can shape-shift through more forms than Marceline and Marshall put together, and he decided on something akin to a Rainicorn, as to not freak out the people around him, because he didn't want to be feared and just a destructive force. Honestly, I think him meeting Cake had something to do with that.

But, anyway, Marshall Lee and I were walking- or, in his case, floating- down the same hallway where Marceline's… loot room? The door clicked as we went past, and we peeked in the window to see Marcy trying the locked handle. She spotted us and gestured to the knob.

Marshall cocked his head, like, _are you sure?_

She, in hand movements, said she'd kill him… no, wait… rip out his jugular… and strangle him with it? Isn't that normally what you strangle _on_?

Marshall shrugged and held up his hands, palm up in a peace gesture, and reached for the knob.


	18. Cousin It

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: It would be __**highly**__ appriciated if you guys could give me reviews. It's just that some people have asked for longer chapters, another person has pointed out a few flaws in character portrayals, etc. and I'm just wondering if there's anything else you guys want tweaked. Also, my birthday was the 26__th__, so that's why THIS chapter took so long as well. See ya!_

Chapter Eighteen

Marshall's P.O.V.

After being threatened to be strangled with my own esophagus, I opened the door to let my _darling _baby sister out of her holding cell, praying that she was over it, otherwise there'd be hell to pay, both from her and the other guys because they'd be pissed at me that we had to do it all over again.

Marceline stepped out, her clothes rumpled and in some places torn from sleeping on top of the jewels and everything. She handed Fionna her (shiny) sword and laughed. "You're lucky to have Finn as a brother, ya know. Otherwise, I'd never know whose sword this was."

"Huh?" I blinked. "Wait, Finn and Fi are brother and sister? I thought they were, like, cousins or something."

"No…" Fionna said slowly, shaking her head.

"But you act like close friends or something." I insisted.

"Can't we be both?" Fionna asked with a confused expression on her face.

Marceline and I exchanged a look. With our 'relationship', or, rather, lack thereof, that kind of thought patteren didn't generally cross our path- well, not mine, at least.

It occurred to me that Finn had probably compared mine and Marceline's actions to his and Fionna's, his and Jake's, Fionna's and Cake's, _Fire Prince _Infern's and Fire Princess Incendia's, hell, even Lumpy Space Prince and Princess as a way of working out what needed tweaking on whose behaviour.

A little voice in the back of my head reminded me that I hadn't excactly been wonderful to Marceline, so that was a point to be made as well. I sighed out loud, and Fionna gave me an odd look, as if to say, _'Dude, stop.'_

Meanwhile, Marceline was glancing at her arms, which had gone all hard and flaky, as they normally did when this happened. "Ugh!" She groaned. "Myskin's all weird again!" She pulled at her top and peered at her belly. "Wonderful. It's on my stomach. I'm not even gonna check my chest, because it's probably all over there, too." Generally, judging by the previous patterns of her skin during previous… _episodes_, it grew farther along her body with each passing year.

She looked up at us. "At least it's not on my face, right?" Fionna bolted, yelping that she thought she heard Cake calling her. I, consequently, was trapped, and I twiddled my thumbs together.

"Uh… well, ya see…" I started hesitantly.

An expression of dismay shot through her face. "No… no, oh, glob, please, no…" She dashed over to a mirror hanging on the wall (Bubba says _I'm_ vain. Have you ever counted your mirrors, dude?) and gave a little scream.

Frankly, it looked like somebody had taken a black texta and drawn little hexagons all over her skin. She scraped at them furiously as she walked away, muttering darkly under her breath, something about a spatula, which somehow, I thought that if Bubba had heard that, she'd never be allowed anywhere _near_ the kitchen for a year.

Speak of the pink, squishy devil; I distinctly heard Bubba's voice coming down the hallway. By the sound of it, he was having, as he would put it in his British, semi-nerdy, sugary way of speaking, 'a civilised disagreement of conflicting opinions' with P.B... In other words, they were bickering, like any good cousins do.

Marceline's eyes widened when she realised who was about to come around the corner. She squeaked, glancing in the mirror again before throwing her hair over her face and beginning to stalk down the corridor in the oppisite direction.

Bubba spotted her as he walked into view, cutting off something he'd been... well, not _snapping_, because he appears to be incapble of that, but saying angrily to P.B. "Marceline? You okay?" He asked. I, being his, as my sister quite delicatly put it, bosom bud deamon dude, picked up that it was just a _touch_ forced happy-wise.

Marceline, still doing a Cousin It impression, just shrugged. "Yeah..." She mumbled.

P.B. had stopped and was picking up the flakes that Marceline had shed to study them. "You know," She said out loud, "These look almost like… oh, I don't know, scales or something…"

There was an ear-splitting shriek from Cousin It as she swung around, her hair going in every direction away from her face, showing her hexagons full in Bubba's face.

"I have _scales_?!"


	19. Try Three?

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, guys! Sorry it took me ages to update, but for me, school just went back, and I'm getting used to A) not being in the same locker, B) having different teachers (eg. My Humanities teacher is now my English teacher) C) not being one of the little kids in the school anymore, and, most imporatantly, D) not mooning over my crush anymore. Plus, I can barely get on the computer anymore, because my brother's starting Yr 12 and has a fuckload of homework. Well, yeah. I've written a fair bit into the story already, now I just need to type. (I know, I know I said I wouldn't use writing books, but I'm using a notebook that almost never leaves my side! No chance of my losing it!)_

Chapter Nineteen

**Gumball's P.O.V.**

"I have _scales_?!" Marceline half-screamed as she turned.

Marshall's head snapped up, and P.B. looked shocked. I blinked, Marceline's… _apparantly scaly face _inches from mine.

"Whoa, what?" P.B. said uncertainly. She studied Marceline for a few seconds before turning on Marshall and accusing him of withholding information about Marceline's 'delicate condition'.

"Hey, hey!" He protested, holding up both hands in defence. "I _said_ her skin went all weird, and I…"

His voice seemed to trail off as I tuned out him and my cousin fighting, as usual at each other's throats. I watched as Marceline stared at me, one hand self-conciously cupping his cheek.

"Marceline?" I asked quietly, so quiet I wasn't sure she heard me over Marshall and Bonnibell.

She swallowed. "You think I'm a freak, don't you?" Her voice broke slightly.

I blinked. "No, of _course_ I don't!" I said, almost scoldingly. I checked my tone and took a deep breath. "Listen, Marceline, I'm sorry. I never meant to offend you, or make you upset. Frankly, I just wanted to know who was singing and Bonnibell's the smart one." She laughed, which I took as a good sign, so I pressed on. "Listen, I'm not smart, don't have a wicked sense of humor, or skills with fighting. I'm only really good for baking, throwing parties, decorating, pulling pranks on and getting into cracks with my stretchy limbs and body. I don't have any special abilities. I don't even do anything other than bake and generally be kind of… prince-y."

"Please tell me you're going somewhere witht his." Sha said dryly, smiling.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "I am. Any other comments?" She shook her head, smirking behind a hand. "But… yeah, I…" I looked at her, and the look in her eyes, the way they sparkled and looked so sombre at the same time, made me falter. I couldn't possibly say this to her faec. Ever. So, what was I going to say? "I… well, I'm really sorry. Uh… try three?" I stuck out my hand.

Her previously shining eyes dulled. "Yeah." She said off-handedly. "Marceline Abadeer."

"My full name is Jericho Bubba Lewis Gumball." I said, grimacing slightly as she took my hand.

She snorted, looking at me incredulously. "Okay, with Bonnie's love of cartoons, your life has gotta be a living hell between the mouse and the donkey."

"It's okay. I call Finn 'Clyde', and she shuts up _real_ fast." I shot back.

We both held our composure for about five seconds, not looking at each other, before our eyes met and we both burst out laughing.

It occurred to me that Marshall and Bonnibell had stopped arguing and were staring at us as we cackled, tears pouring down our cheeks.

"Guys?" Marshall raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

I, still cackling, held up a finger as I finally stopped laughing and got my breath back.

Marceline fanned a hand at her face, gasping with a smile, "I can't breathe! I can't breathe!" She laughed again.

Bonnie walked up to her. "Marcy, I'm gonna do some tests on you. Maybe I can figure out why this is happening, okay?"

Marceline nodded as she gulped her laughter down, following my cousin into her lab down the hall.

Marshall looked at me, like, _'Dude, what did you _do_?'_

I gave him a thumbs-up, grinning.

He just sighed, smiling as he shook his head mockingly.


	20. Princesses Can Be Scary

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry, sorry! My dad gave me a computer ban, and I'm just back at school, and everything's gone a little haywire. I forgot what I was planning on doing for this chapter, and I only just remembered. As always, hope you like it, and (rubbing temples and staring at you while swinging a watch in front of you) please write in that nice little box dawn the bottom. Yes, the one that says 'review' at the top.**_

Chapter Twenty

**Marceline's P.O.V.**

"Allright, Bonnibell, what _is _this?" I asked, sitting on the edge of a table in the lab, hooked up to about six different machines.

"What?" She poked her head up from behind a printer, where she'd been dilligently studying the read outs of the test she'd done on me.

"Ah, this?" I pointed to the blue-and-grey thing she'd strapped to my arm.

"It's like… a biorythm thing. It scans your heart rate- well, if your heart beat, it would- breathing speed, body tempratue, blood pressure, even nuerological electricity levels." She explained. "It's my know-all guide to _'What's Happening To Marceline'._ Make sense?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess… can I go home now? I need to feed my dog, and I'm kinda tired."

"Oh, yeah. Take Gumball with you." She said off-handedly, blowing past me with a stack of papers.

I blinked, standing there like an idiot for several seconds. I twirles my pinky in my ear, head cocked as I stared at her. "Ex-_cuse_ me?"

"You need somebody to si\tick with you for a little while- all day, actually- and make sure you don't collapse or something."

"Uh, c-couldn't it be Marshall?" I stammered slightly, thinking of being stuck with Gumball _all day long_ while I waited for Bonnie to finish.

"No, because you'll be stressed around him, and that'll stuff up the readings." She tapped the bio-reader-thingamabob on my arm.

"Finn?" I asked desperately.

"Nope." She popped her lips on the 'P'. "He's off helping his sister with something in the Fire Kingdom." She shrugged apologetically. "And I need to stick around to do science stuff for you, so you're stuck with the baker boy."

My shoulders sagged a little. "Ni-i-i-ice…"

"He'll just be hanging out with you. I just want a typical day in the life of Marceline Abadeer." Bonnie smiled deviously. "Besides, I though you'd _jump_ at the chance to spend _all day_ with my cousin."

"Bonnie!" I said, shocked. "Im supposed to be the deviant, semi-evil-appearing, mess-with-your-head girl! You're the goody-two-shoes princess nerd who doesn't hurt a fly!"

She held up a finger to silence me. "One word. _Ricardio._"

I bit my lip, blinking. "Point taken. I'm out; I'll grab Gumball on the way back to my cave. See ya." I flew out the window without letting her say another word.


	21. I Just Wanted Bacon

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Once again, sorry, everybody. I had a total mental blank on what I was about to do, but I've figured it out now, so, without further babbling; **_

Chapter Twenty-One

**Marceline's P.O.V.**

My alarm went off in my face the next morning, and I groaned. It was too early, it couldn't _possibly _be 7.30 already? I buried my head under my pillow and reached out to turn the glob-forsaken thing _off_. My hand batted around in the air a few times before landing on something sticky. I muttered a question to myself as I peered over the side of the bed, only to see Gumball, sound asleep on the inflatable mattress next to my bed.

I winced as I pulled my hand away from his face, sticky strands of gum snapping back into place on his face. He frowned and muttered in his sleep, rolling onto his side. I snickered to myself as I floated downstairs, opening the fridge, which was fairly well stocked, due to Bonnibell and Finn and Jake, and looking inside.

"Let's see..." I said to myself. _Bacon, bug juice, milk... bacon, strawberries, ice water... bacon... _my gaze kept flickering back to the top shelf, where the packet of bacon lay innocently. I shrugged to myself, thinking, what the hell?

XXX

Pretty soon, I had the bacon sizzling in a frying pan on the stove, inhaling deeply and grinning.

Upstairs, there was a _thump_ and a sleepy yelp. "Well, Bubba's awake... ish." I smirked.

He slid down the ladder, landing on the carpet with a dull _whump_, using his stretchy legs as shock absorbers. I peered at him through the window from the kitchen to my living room, watching as he yawned. He was wearing dark shorts, a rock t-shirt (which I recognised, because I was pretty sure Marshall had given it to him a while back), and odd socks, his hair slightly squished from being slept on.

"Morning, dude." I called.

He jumped. "Gah! Uh... good morning." He said, slightly stiffly.

I floated out of the kitchen. "Dude..." I flew around him in a circle, studying him. "Okay, why the stuffed-shirt act?"

"What do you mean?" He asked quickly. "I'm just being polite."

"Yeah..." I nodded earnestly. "I_ believe_ you, Bubba."

"Wait, is that..." He sniffed. "_Bacon_?"

"Yep."

"Why are you making bacon? I thought you drank red, like Marshall."

I do, I just..." I trailed off. "I just wanted bacon, okay?"

"Fair enough."

I walked back into the kitchen and peered at the flames underneath the frying pan. I frowned. They were way too hot, and the bacon was gonna burn. So, I blew a few of the pyres out. I stood back upright, brushing my hands off on my jeans, then swished the bacon around in the pan a little before tipping it out onto two plates. I turned around to Gumball. "Hey, you want toast?"

"Uh... yeah. Why'd you do that?" He was staring at me with an odd look on his face, a question in his eyes.

"Why'd I do what?"

"Never mind." He shook his head before drifting over to the table, where I set the plates before returning to the kitchen to dutifully make toast.

**Gumball's P.O.V.**

After I questioned the bacon, Marceline went back into the kitchen. She bent over and stared at the flames under the frying pan, seemingly entranced by the flickering fire. Suddenly, she blew out three with quick, precision puffs of air, in some pre-planned pattern in her head. I blinked as she went on, humming as she served the bacon as though _nothing had happened_.

She asked whether I wanted toast, and I asked her why she'd done... whatever it was she'd done. She shrugged and put the plates on the table before floating back into the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with a pile of thick, golden buttered toast. I smiled my thanks before digging in. Marcy was a_ really_ good cook, especially for someone who eats colours...


	22. Only Weenies Sparkle

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, Florence M. Welch has brought it to my attention that some people MAY take the state that Gumball woke up in (sticky) and the fact that he was in Marceline's room to mean that they did Tier 15. THEY DID NOT! I cannot stress this enough- Marcy and Gumball are NOT back together. Not yet, anyway. Alright, now, putting my serious hat (It actually exists, an Australian flag cap) away, enjoy!**_

**Marceline's P.O.V.**

I carried my plate over to the kitchen sink, where Gumball was standing, washing dishes. I paused and took a moment to fully appreciate how girly he looked, an apron tied around his waist as he muttered darkly, glaring at a speck of grease on one of my plates as he scrubbed at it, a small pool of water collecting at his socked feet.

I snickered as I dumped my dishes into the soapy water. He looked at me, obviously confused at my amusement. "What? What's so funny?"

"Oh, just how housewife-y you look right now."

"Hey!" He said indignantly. "How am I housewife-y?"

I tapped my chin. "Oh, you've left yourself open for _so many_ things there, Bubs... how's about we start with the _sparkly_, _kitten_ apron that you're wearing. Or should I voice how engrossed in washing dishes you are?"

"You're mean." He pouted.

"No, just a deviant." I grinned. "And you're a house mouse."

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Prove it." I said.

"How?" He looked bewildered.

"Commando-spy jump." I pointed at the window between the kitchen and the living room. "Through there, I dare you."

"Alright." He dried off his hands and took off his apron, carefully folding it in half and draping it over the back of a chair. He took a few steps back before charging at the window and diving through, sailing across the room before crashing into my blinds over my window to outside, bringing them crashing down.

You may ask why I even _have_ blinds. The reason is, during summer, at about 10.30 in the morning, there's this nice little _semi-lethal_ sunbeam that shines through the mouth of my cave and in through the window. Reason: I don't want to fry.

Gumball yelped and tackled me out of the sunlight. "Oh, gob! I'm sososos sorry!" He babbled. "Are you okay? I hope you're not hur-"

"Gumball, shush for a sec." I held up a finger to him and stretched my other hand up, waving it through the sunlight, cringing in anticipation. For... _nothing, apparently._

The sun glinted off of my scales, making me shine. Well, whatever they were, the offered sun protection. I noted that where I'd scraped them off yesterday, they'd grown back. I frowned. _That _didn't used to happen.

"You're... sparkling." Gumball breathed.

"I am _not_!" I hissed in mild anger, spinning to glare at him.

"What? What's wrong with sparkling?" He looked bewildered again.

"Same reason Marshall hates Edward. Twilight-"

"' Makes vampires look like total sissies, dude! They don't float or anything, hell, they don't even have decent healing!' I've heard it a million times from Marsh. I think it's the only thing you two agree on."

"Uh... okay. Well," I said, brightening, "I'm not gonna crispify anytime soon, so I'm gonna go do some gardening." I flew through my front door and out of my cave to my greenhouse, which was basically a glass-paned large-size garden shed.

I touched down and started weeding around my watermelons as Gumball stood in the doorway, one eyebrow raised and his head cocked as I quietly hummed '_What Am I To You_ ', a song that Finn'd sung a while back. "What are you lookin' at?" I asked as I ripped a dandelion out of the ground.

"Just... gardening. Never thought you'd turn out to be a botanist." He shrugged. I continued humming, and he asked me what it was.

"Oh, just a song Finn came up with." I said offhandedly. I was thinking about the song because the question itself was ringing in my head.

"Cool. How's it go, if you don't mind me asking?"

I feigned ignorance, not wanting to alert him to my thoughts. "I can't remember. You'd have to ask Finn."

"Oh... what's it called?"

"Sorry." I shrugged. "I don't remember."

He smiled, and my heart would've thudded in my chest if it beat under normal circumstances. "Fair enough."

"You know, I need more tomatoes... Bubba, go get the tomato seeds." I commanded.

"Yes, Mistress." He simpered, giving a grin that would have made even the most trusting person instantly suspicious. He walked off, and I let myself relax a little.

Jeez, I was 1000 years old! Why would I like this weird, semi-sissy, nerdy, funny, smart, charming- _WAIT! Bad brain!_ I'd only been in contact with him for a little under a week, and he was already messing with my head. I was making ties with Marshall's best friend, who'd probably desert me as soon as Marshall left. But... a small part of my brain whispered to me. '_Gumball's not like that. You know him,'_ I told myself, '_He won't leave you hanging. Especially not now, while you're going through all this weird stuff.'_

I shook myself from my thoughts as he came back with a little paper bag. "These?"

I sighed. "What?"

"Are these the tomato seeds?" He repeated.

"Do they say 'tomato' on them?"

He paused and glance at the bag. "Yes."

"Then, yes, Gumball," I said with exaggerated patience, "Those are the _tomato_ seeds."

"Yeesh." He dropped them in my lap.

"What?" I looked up sharply. "Just... seriously. I may be better acquainted with vegetables in the kitchen, but you don't need to be so snippy." He said, a hurt look on his face.

If it'd been Finn, I would've laughed it off and said I was just messing with him. If it was Marshall, I probably wouldn't have bothered. Bonnibell ,I would have rolled my eyes and laughed at her. But the look on Gumball's face made me falter. I hung my head, rubbing the back of my neck. "I'm sorry. I've just got a lot on my mind with the scales and... stuff." I said vaguely.

"It's okay." He said quietly.

We stood- well, strictly speaking, I was kneeling- there for a few moments, not looking at each other.

I stood and brushed my knees off. "Well. You're not such a stuffed shirt, after all." I said brightly. "Look at ya, you're out here in the sun, with a vampire rocker chick, getting your hands dirty in a garden, wearing a rock t-shirt and shorts-"

He glanced down and yelped. "I'm in my pajamas!"

I laughed. "Dude, don't freak out."

"But, but..." He spluttered.

"You look fine." I assured him.

"One would almost think that comment was biased."He laughed, and I blushed slightly.

"Whatever. They're good gardening clothes- you won't get your fancy pants dirty." I steered the conversation away from that territory as I scooped up a dirt clod and threw it at his legs.

"Hey!" He cried, grabbing a handful and tossing it in my direction.

I grabbed it out of midair, poked a seed into it, and patted it into the ground.

"Aw, what? No fair, that's cheating!" Gumball protested.

I laughed. "Natural abilities, Bubba. C'mon, help me with the pumpkins." I took step into the air to float. I didn't float.

I tripped and landed on my face in the dirt. "Yah!" I yelped as I fell.

Gumball launched forwards to help me up. I waved him away as I spat the soil out of my mouth, winded.

I stood up and started hopping in a circle, bouncing into the air, Fionna-style, and landing on my feet on the ground.

_I couldn't fly._


	23. You Broke Him!

**Gumball's P.O.V.**  
I watched Marceline hop for about twenty seconds, then spoke up. "What... are you doing?"  
"I... I c-can't fl-float!" She wailed.  
'_What?'_ I blinked. "What do you mean, you can't float?"  
"Look!" She jumped up into the air, landing with a soft _thud_.  
"Okay. Don't freak out, okay?" I said, putting a hand on her arm.  
She flashed me a smile. "The support is appreciated. However, as I'm not a Candy Person, and have no tendency to explode, I think that I'll completely, utterly and totally freak out now. Thanks anyway, Bubba." With that, she started pacing, pulling at her long hair and muttering.  
"Bonnibell said that if anything strange started happening, we should inform her immediately." I said, touching her arm again, and she stopped in her tracks. "Let's head for the Candy Kingdom."  
She nodded, and we started walking.  
XXX  
"I must admit that I am completely stumped." My cousin sighed, running a hand up to smooth down her hair. She'd been tirelessly studying the results of her tests and scans since Marcy hd left to get me the previous day. "Of course, I looked at one of the x-rays I took yesterday, and there appear to be two protrusions growing out of your shoulders, as well as one on the base of your spine." She tapped her chin absent-mindedly.  
"So... I have nubs on my back?" Marceline raised an eyebrow. She'd stopped her panic attack about halfway to the Candy Kingdom, and was _relatively_ calm now.  
"And your lower back." I added.  
"And a butt-nub." She amended.  
I snorted, a grin spreading across my face. Bonnibell looked horrified at my un-prince-like behaviour. "Jerricho Bubba Lewis Gumball, what would your mother say if she heard _that_?" She admonished.  
I shrugged. "It was _funny_. Am I not allowed to laugh now?"  
She shook her head. "Never mind, you're being far too silly." She turned back to her readouts, muttering.  
Meanwhile, Marcy was going through a long and involved list of things that could be happening to her, "Having an allergic reaction, had a spell put on me, I'm turning into a dragon, we're all hallucinating, I'm growing a new form-"  
"_What_ was that?" Bonnibell's head snapped up.  
"I'm growing a new form?"  
"Before that."  
"Allergic reaction?"  
"After that."  
"We're hallucinating?"  
"Before that."  
"Spell?"  
"After that."  
"I'm turning into a dragon?" Marcy laughed sarcastically.  
Bonnie looked at the printout in her hand, glancing up at her. "You'll thank me for this later." She said, before pacing one hand squarely on Marceline's back, and the other in the middle of her chest. Marcy squeaked the start of an indignant protest, and my cousin squeezed hr, setting her off like a butane barbecue lighter.  
Flames crackled out from Marceline's lips, scorching the air and warming my face so much that my nose softened out of shape.  
"What the flip did you _do_ to me, Bonnie?!" She yelped, diving away from her.  
"I applied pressure to your chest cavity, and caused a pyrotechnical chemical reaction that escaped through your windpipe."  
"So, you squeezed me- and I breathed _fire_?!" She yelled. Her hands were shaking.  
"Uh... yes, in layman's terms."  
I, meanwhile, was doing a goldfish impression, thinking something along the lines of '_Whadahelljushappen?!'_  
"Marceline... can I take another blood sample? I'm going to go check your DNA for dragonic genetics."  
Marcy held out her arm, blinking. "Bonnie, just figure out what the hell I _am_, an I'll be your slave forever."  
**P.B.'s P.O.V.**  
"That's not necessary, Marcel-"  
"Uh..." Gumball's eyes rolled up, and he flopped back.  
Marcy dived to catch him, poking him in the face to try and get a reaction before turning to me. "Congratulations, Bonnibell. You broke Gumball."


	24. Unique, Not A Freak

**Marceline's P.O.V.**

A few days later, Bonnie still hadn't surfaced from her lab after disappearing in a tornado of papers. Gumball and I were discussing me apparent... _fire breath_ as he remoulded his nose back to shape.

"So.. do you think I could do that without being squeezed?" I cocked my head.

He shrugged. "Point out a window, just in case."

I poked my head out the window nearby and tensed my chest. _'Okay, hopefully this works so I know how to do it...'_ I thought, pursing my lips as I felt the heat build in my throat. I puffed out a small bubble of air, and a jet of flames burst out of my mouth. "Woah.." I muttered as the sparks dissipated.

Gumball nodded in agreement, his face filled with awe.

XXX

So, me and Gumball were hanging out down near the forest, me playing with my new ability, burning leaves as I twirled them in my fingers, him lounging against a tree next to me, lazily flipping the pages of a book.

Bonnie walked up, holding three sheets of paper. "Marcy? I do believe your slave labour starts now." She laid out the three sheets, one with a cartoon picture of me on it, another with a little black dragon picture, and finally, one which had a... pixie? She'd taped them together so that the pixie and the dragon's bottom corners met at the middle of the top of my paper. She took a breath. "Marcy, looking at your chromosomes, hormones and base genetics, you were _half_ right. You're the daughter of a dragon and an elf."

"A what and a _what_? Dragon and elf? Wow. And I got turned into a vampire- I'm even more of a _freak_ than I thought." I said bitterly.

Gumball stood up and looked at me, a concerned look on his face. "You're not a freak, not in the slightest."

"Oh, I'm just _unique_?" I rolled my eyes.

"Yes." He said firmly. "The one and only Marceline Abadeer. I've only known you for a week and a bit, but you just be yourself around people. I feel like I've known you for _way_ longer than a week- I know you fight with your brother heaps, you have a love/hate relationship with my cousin, you've become gal pals with Fionna and Cake, you snore a little, you like gardening, you're a good cook, and you have no qualms about convincing someone to drop their outer shells and let their true selves shine- _This is me, and I love me for me_. You are _not_ a freak, Marceline. You're you, and that's all anyone can ever ask of you."

I smiled a little, despite myself. "Thanks, _Jerry_." I teased.

Bonnie started humming the Tom and Jerry theme. "..." She pounced at him, biting his ear lightly as she landed on his back. "Meow." She smirked.

"Get off of me!" He exclaimed, shaking his shoulders angrily.

"Why? You're absolutely adorable when you're mad, cousin dear." She laughed and patted at his cheek.

"Bonnibell, got off me!"

"Nope, not happening." She chuckled and mewed again.

I was about to step in to yank her off of him, but Gumball roared, "_Princess Bonnibell Bubblegum, get off of me this instant! You've got until three!_" She didn't move. "_One... two..._" He started. "_Two and a half..._" His voice suddenly went deadpan. "Three."

He flipped her off of his shoulders as she shrieked, flying spectacularly through the air and crashing down into a bush.

"Ah..." I blinked. "What just happened? Was I in an alternate dimension for a sec there?"

"What? Sorry, I was busy getting my cousin off my back." He brushed his hands off on his pants.

"You flipped her."

"Like a pancake. With this." He held up a spatula.

"Gumball, sire of the spoon and spatula." I laughed.

"Now, as I was _saying_ before the whole freak versus unique thing, do you remember the lumps on your back and lower back?" Bonnie surfaced from the bush, looking rather rumpled.

"Yeah. My nubs and my butt-nub." I nodded, poker-faced as Gumball snickered.

"It appears that they're probably going to develop further, grow into wings and a tail."

"A _tail_? Ew." I wrinkled my nose. "What kind of dragon am I?"

"A species known as a 'black dragon'. I think your dragon family comes from the high northern mountain ranges, and your elven family comes from the southern forests." She explained, gesturing to the line of data on the paper.

"I'm going to pretend that those line make any sense at all, okay?" Gumball laughed. "But I get it. I'll maybe look up Black Dragons later. In the meantime, I have a song to write. See ya 'round." I walked off, leaving Gumball chuckling and Bonnie looking rather bemused.


	25. Uh-Oh X1000000

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, I know some people may not like Marceline the half-dragon, but this is my story, so quit it with the goddamn mean PMs already! I know that at least a few people like my story, and you don't have to. No-one is MAKING you read this, so you can take your complaints and feed 'em to the Cosmic Owl, okay? :P Apologies to readers who actually like this story, but I'm getting a tad sick of some of the stuff I'm getting sent. Plus- WHEEE, midnight update! This chapter is liable to be sucky considering wrote most of it from 9:32-12:09... Thank glob it's Saturday...**_  
**Gumball's P.O.V.**  
I was walking along one of the paths that wound around the Candy Palace, and I could faintly hear Marceline singing.  
I called out to her as I approached, not wanting a repeat of what happened last time I wanted to hear her singing. "Hey, Marcy, it's me, Gumball!"  
"Oh, hey, Bubba. What's u-" Her greeting was cut off by an absolutely _ear-splitting_ shriek of pain.  
I dashed around the corner to see her curled up in a ball on the ground, whimpering. Her bass lay on the grass next to the wall she'd probably been leaning against. "Marceline!" I was telling myself not to panic. The worst thing to do in any situation is panic. "What's wrong?!"  
She shuddered violently and shrieked again "G-gumball..." She wailed, spasming in pain.  
I panicked. "I-I don't know what to do!" I swallowed, turning to the castle. "Help! Something's wrong with Marcy! _Help_!" I bellowed.  
Fionna leapt down from a nearby window, Marshall Lee mere moments behind her.  
"What happened?! Is she okay?!" Fionna yelped upon seeing Marceline's agonised state. She knelt down next to her, speaking quietly and stroking her hair in a futile attempt at comforting her.  
I explained to Marshall what had occurred, and he nodded. "We should definitely take her up to P.B.. C'mon, Marce." He bent and tried to lift her, but she twisted away from him, howling as her back shivered again, somehow managing to get even _more _agitated.  
"No! Not...not him." She croaked.  
Fionna leaned in close to her. "Who, then? You are in _no_ condition to walk."  
Marcy whispered something to her, and Fionna shrugged. She looked at me. "She thinks she's too heavy for me, and she doesn't want Marshall carrying her. She wants _you_ to carry her, dude."  
"But... you're stronger than me." I pointed out.  
She shrugged again. "She said it, I didn't. Just carry her, Prince."  
I awkwardly slid my arms underneath Marcy and picked her up, cringing as she hissed in pain again. She whimpered, her eyes wild with pain. Her back was writhing, as though her spine was about to burst through her skin. Her arms tensed as she wailed again, clutching at my arm, looking up at me with an imploring look of terror and helplessness. I swallowed, looking over at her brother. "Dude, I need you to fly me up to Bonnie's lab."  
He nodded and picked me up under the armpits, being careful not to tilt me in case I dropped Marcy. He flew us through the window, Fionna jumping after us.  
Needless to say, Bonnibell was very concerned about her friend, but she kept her cool, unlike Marshall, Fionna and I.  
Marceline started thrashing around, crying out in pain every few seconds. Bonnibell ducked under her flailing arm, but it smacked Fionna in the midsection. She yelped and took a step back, cradling her stomach.  
Bonnie told me to lay her out on the table, so I did, murmuring a hurried apology as she yelled out again. Bonnie secured her limbs down with thick leather straps. "I'm sorry, Marcy, but I'm tying you down so you don't hurt yourself or somebody else or break something." She said soothingly, patting Marcy's shoulder.  
She hissed in pain, her back arching off of the table, biting her bottom lip, her eyes wild and pleading, staring straight up but not seeing.  
I grabbed her hand. "C'mon, Marcy, it's okay! C'mon, just look at me! Look at me!" I begged, holding her hand in both of mine.  
"G.. Gum...ball..."She croaked, forcing her eyes to focus on me. "Help me..."  
"It... it'll be okay. You hear me? It'll be okay, I promise." I pressed my lips to her cheek as her eyes slid closed, her limbs subsided into twitching and she stopped whimpering. "Marcy? Marcy!" I looked up at Bonnibell, absolutely terrified as I stepped away from Marceline.  
"It's okay, Gumball. I stuck her with a sleeping potion. She can't feel a thing now." She soothed, laying a comforting hand on my shoulder. "She should be asleep for-"  
Suddenly, Marceline started thrashing around, _screaming_ in agony, the straps straining to keep her on the tabletop.  
"Uh.. how long was she supposed to be asleep for?" Marshall asked anxiously.  
"Erm... four hours?"  
I took a step toward Marceline, eyes wide as her back arched upwards, and she shrieked again, a strange sound of ripping filling the air, and a crunch that I realised came from _inside her back_.  
There was another tearing noise, and in the next moment, Fionna had propelled me and Marshall from the room, yelpin out a nigh-light-speed apology.  
We crashed into the wall, and Marshall groaned. "Ow... what just happened?"  
"I think Fionna tossed us out." I replied. "Emphasis on _toss_!"  
"Nah shit, Gumshoe." He rolled his eyes.  
"Be nice." I scolded.  
"What for? I'm kind of busy worrying about my little sister in there and whether she's even gonna survive this! Did you hear the kinds of noises that were coming from her?!" He yelled.  
I bowed my head. "Yeah, Marshall. I did hear them. And you know what I also heard? I heard her when she needed somebody to listen, when she needed someone to count on. And last time I checked, older sibling were _supposed _to be a pretty reliable source for that!" I looked up at him, fire in my eyes.  
"And who asked you to put your two cents in, Bubble-breath?!" He shouted.  
"Well, it wouldn't kill you to even _try_ to apologise for the past however many hundred years!"  
He sighed. "I know," He said, surprising me. "I'm just... _sick of myself,_ y'know? And I don't want her to get hurt before I can figure out my head and talk to her."  
"It's okay, Marsh. Fi makes a good helper anywhere but the kitchen, and Bonne knows what she's doing. Marceline's going to be fine, I swear. She'll be fine."  
"Who are you trying to convince- me or yourself?" Marshall Lee asked quietly.  
I honestly wasn't sure anymore.


	26. Erm, Wait, WHAT?

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Worry, not, guys... **_

_**And now, in the immortal words of LadyofMischief (My sister);**_

_**On with the ficcieness!**_

**Gumball's P.O.V.**

About three-quarters of an hour later, Marshall was pacing nervously up and down the hallway, and I was sitting against the wall, staring at my hands. Marcy had stopped screaming, but every now and then there had been a quiet yelp. Suddenly, there was a plaintive wail.

Marshall swung to look at the door, and I jumped up as Fionna poked her head out, looking very rumpled and stressed. "Uh... guys?"

"What, Fionna?!" We demanded in unison.

She yelped. "Gah! Don't yell at me!" She recovered, and held out her hand to us. "You can come in now. Marcy's..."

"Marcy's _what_?"

"She's what? What's happening?!"

"Is she okay?"

"Fionna?"

"Talk to me!"

"Is she okay?! Fi!"

"_SHUT UP!_" She yelled, and both Marshall Lee and I froze, our next questions armed and ready but not fired at her. "I can't think when you two are yelling questions at me like that! Marceline's okay... physically, at least."

"What do you mean?" I asked suspiciously.

"It's... hard to explain. Just be gentle with her, and don't freak out. Be nice to her. _Clear, _Marshall?" She shot a look at him.

"Hey!" He protested. "I thought we were past this!"

"Whatever. Just don't be a jerk." Her face was bright red as she stared at his chest, refusing to meet his gaze.

He looked at her angrily. "Listen, Fionna, I'm not the same guy I was anymore. Okay? I've changed."

I suddenly got the feeling that maybe we weren't talking about Marcy any longer. I grabbed Marshall by the collar and Fionna by the bunny ear and dragged them into the lab. "C'mon, guys!"

Walking into the lab, I quickly spotted Marceline, curled up in a chair, her chin on her folded arms, which were in turn resting on her knees, She had a dull look in her eyes. "Hey, Marshall. Hi, Gumball." She said flatly.

"Hi, Marcy." Marshall said. "Are you alright?"

"No."

"What's wrong?" I asked, reaching out to touch her hand.

She jerked backwards, her lips quivering as she spoke. "I'm a total weirdo. It doesn't matter _what_ you say now, I'm a freaking monster."

"You're not a monster, you're Marceline Abadeer. _My little sister_." Marshall said, making her look up in surprise. "I know I've been a total jerk these past thousand years, and I'm really sorry. I haven't been half the big brother I should have been. But you aren't a freak, and you aren't a monster. You're you, and no matter how you mutate, that won't change." He teased.

She blinked, tears forming in her eyes. "Thanks, Marsh. But will you still say that... now?" She hesitantly stood up and spread out a pair of huge, purple-and-black, scaled wings. They were easily fourteen, fifteen feet across, and she turned in a circle, showing them off. She twitched her shoulders, and they moved, folding back along her spine. She uncurled something from around her waist... a belt? No, not a belt... a tail. It was long and thin, with a large, flat triangle at the end, also coated in scales.

I wondered faintly if she was _completely _covered in scales. I promptly stopped that train before it left the station, because if I went much further along that line of thought, I'd slap myself silly.

Meanwhile, Marcy curled her tail around herself again, and it returned to it's disguise as a belt.

We two guys were gobsmacked. "Uh..." We said in unison.

Marceline's eyes went teary. "I know, I'm a freak of nature!" She ran out, crying.

Fionna sighed. "I _did_ warn you..."

"You said nothing about semi-reptilian wings or a tail." Marshall retorted.

"Well, you're a butt!" She replied.

"You're calling me names for no reason!" He exclaimed.

"And you flipping kissed me!" She yelled.

"Because I friggin' love you!" He shouted. He clapped a hand over his mouth as Fionna froze.

Bonnibell and I were silent, me staring at my feet and her fiddling with several vials of chemicals.

Fionna took off, dashing for the window. I moved to intercept her, grabbing for her arm.

She glared at me and shove me away from her hard enough to make me stumble onto one knee. "Leave me alone!" She said hotly, before jumping out of the window.

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE (THE SECOND!): Okay, to those of you who aren't so crazy about Fiolee, sorry. But I've already designed offspring (I has BIG plans) and I need a primary reason for Fi to be kind of pissed of for a few chapters. Just when you thought I couldn't get any weirder..._**

**_(SPOILER!)_**

**SIR BUBBA!**


	27. Are We Still Talking About This?

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okey-dokey, my sister's wedding is in, like, five days (Easter- perfect excuse for a chocolate cake ;D) so I've barely had ANY time to type since the last post! My apologies for having a not-very-well done chapter after a dramatic cliffhanger, but I've had to do this at ludicrous speed (Hands up- who else watched Spaceballs in the past 48 hours?) on a cluncky old school computer with a semi-broken keyboard. My brother's computer died (Trojan horse on World Of Warcraft) and my mum's laptop gets kind of retarded on Google Documents, so... here you go. Bye! -milomeepit**_

Chapter 27

**Gumball's P.O.V.**

I watched Fionna disappear out the window, standing up from her practically pushing me over. I wondered idly if that was against her hero's moral code or anything.

"Uh... did I just say that out loud?" Marshall asked, his face pale. Paler than usual, anyway.

'Depends. If you mean 'I love you' to Fionna, yep." Bonnibell said 'tactfully'.

He sagged. "And I'm gonna go sit out in the sun now." He shuffled away, looking mortified.

"It'll be okay!" I called after him, then I grimaced. "Okay, one gets the feeling that they're gonna avoid each other like the plague now. Right?"

"No kidding." Bonnie agreed, turning back to her vials. "So, you want to go check on Marcy?"

"Yeah." I didn't move.

"Let me rephrase that; are you too chicken to go check on her?" Bonnie raised an eyebrow at me.

"No!" I replied, a little too quickly. "I'm trying to figure out what to say to her." I walked out, my face turning red. "Stupid Bonnie.. why's she have to know me so good..." I muttered darkly under my breath as I searched for Marcy.

**XXX**

I wandered around the castle for about an hour before coming across Marcy. She was huddled in an armchair, face buried in her hands. It only took me a second to notice that she was wearing a pink tank top and light blue shorts.

"Since when does she wear _pink_?" I muttered under my breath.

Her ear twitched, and I was suddenly reminded of the fact that elves had supersensory hearing. She angrily mumbled something; "Stupid clothes... stupid wings... stupid tail.."

I did a little bit of a mental jigsaw before- _Lightbulb..._

I promptly turned of the aforementioned light before the mental image was illuminated enough to see properly, furiously blushing.

She looked up at me, eyebrow raised. "Something wrong, cupcake?"

I blushed even more at the casual pet name. "Uh.. never mind." I replied, deciding to ignore my rather inappropriate thoughts.

"Riiiiiight..." She returned to moping.

"Hey, it's okay." I, without thinking, grabbed her hand. She stared up at me. "Your friends love you for you, no matter who that is."

"And you've said that in about eight different ways now, Gumball. My friends are my friends, I know that. I just don't know who _I_ am anymore. And before you go on a tirade of 'You're Marceline Abadeer, rocker chick botanist, blah-blah freakin' _blah_', know something, dude. I know that I'm still me. Okay? I get it." She turned her face away.

"No, you don't, Marcy." My throat was dry. "Otherwise you wouldn't call yourself a freak. Okay, I know I sound like a broken record, but hear me out, okay? _Okay?_"

"Okay..."

"Marcy, you're amazing. You're nice and you're funny and you don't let people hide themselves." I told her, looking at her face. She didn't meet my gaze. "Marceline, _never_ let anyone tell you otherwise. You're the most wacky, fun, smart, pretty girl, and anyone would be insane to be mean to you, or think otherwise." I stopped talking, realising I may have said too much.

She looked up at me. "Are we talking in general, or just to you?"

I blinked.

She laughed and punched my arm lightly. "Dude, I'm messing with you! Me and Marsh both do that!"

"Um... I think I hear Bonnie calling me." I said quickly, reluctantly releasing her hand and walking away.

She waved after me, smiling.

I hoped she'd be okay. It was then that my mind decided to act on its own and attempt to mull over an imagined picture of Marceline, sans clothing.

So, wrestling with that, I was a little too busy to watch where I was going. Consequently, I walked off of the edge of a balcony. My legs did an accordian impression before straightening out, landing on another balcony. I half-shrugged to myself and stepped off of that one too. I landed with a soft '_boing'_ in front of my cousin.

"What was that?" She demanded.

"Uh, me walking?" I said in a '_duh' _tone.

"Jerricho. What are you doing? You... this is nowhere _near_ how a prince should act!"

"By whose standards?" I retorted.

"Oh, nobody important, just me. Your mother. The _world_."

I scoffed. "What, so I can't be me, just because I happen to be a prince?"

"That is _not_ what I meant, and you know it!"

I poked my tongue out at her. "Well, this is me. Suck it up, Princess."

She shook her head. "Jeez, I wouldn't be surprise if you hunted up those old toys of yours- the wooden sword and shield?"

I pondered for a minute, remembering the toys she meant, given to me by Manish Man when I was only four years old. "You know what? That's actually a really good idea, Bonnie." I turned on my heel, walking towards the stairs.

"Ah!" She jumped forward, her hand reaching out vainly as I started climbing the staircase. "What have I done?" I heard her mutter as I turned the corner, trying not to laugh.

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE (AGAIN):**_

_**milomeepit: Okaay... wait, why am I writing this?**_

_**LoM (LadyofMischief): Because I inspired you, sister dear.**_

_**Me: Oh, okay.**_

_**Finn: Why are you doing this to Marcy?**_

_**milomeepit: 'Cause I can. And it makes for good reviews. People luuurve the drama of Marcy not knowing who she is... (Shoves laptop screen at his face) See?**_

_**Finn: (Jumps back) Ah, I see...**_

_**Gumball: What's your deal?**_

_**milomeepit: Gumball. (Shakes head in time with words) Gumball, Gumball, Gumball. You don't quite get it, do you?**_

_**Gumball: Uh, no. That's why I'm asking you. Duh...**_

_**milomeepit: It's okay, you don't have to wait long for your turn for me to screw with your character, too!**_

_**Gumball: Wait, WHAT?!**_

_**milomeepit: And I'm sorry, but that's all we have time for. It's been a pleasure having you on the Author's Note, but now, I think I gotta finish this before someone kills me for being annoying or my sister sues me for copyright.**_

_**Gumball: (As milomeepit closes her laptop) Crazy lady...**_


	28. Reunited With Her 'Only Friend'

**Gumball's P.O.V.**

So, I wandered up to my room and over to my cupboard. Said cupboard was, in truth, an old vault. Four inch thick concrete door, three inch thick steel hinges and a huge combo lock on the front.

I dialled in the numbers and pulled open the hefty door, slowly heaving it away from the hollow within.

I picked up the sword and shield, piled together at the back of a shelf, covered in dust after so many years of simply sitting there.

I swung around the sword, feeling the familiar weight of it in my hand, sliding the shield onto my wrist. I smiled, arcing the wooden blade above my head, listening to the almost _comforting_'_swoosh'_ of the grained surface against the air.

There was a knock on my door, and I walked over to open it.

Marcy stood there, and she looked quite surprised to see my weapons. "Okay... Battle Bubba. When did.. ._this_ happen?" She gestured to the sword.

"When I was younger, I wanted to be a knight. I hung around with this knight order, and I was sort of an unofficial knight-in-training. I'm talking, when I was, like, four years old here, Marce. Manish Man was their blacksmith, and he made me these." I held up my sword and shield. "Bonnie was always into science. That was her hobby, knighthood was mine. When I was seven, though, my mother told me that _knighthood was not a suitable activity for a prince to be involved in. _It's always been a bit of a sore spot between me and Bonnie that she was allowed to continue her non-royal passion when I wasn't. My mom _hates_ anything I do that could nudge me even _slightly _off course from being the _perfect prince_. So, I had to give up all the hard work I'd already put into my plans, give up my dream of being a knight."

"Gumball... you're crying..." Marceline stepped up to me, one hand half-raised as if to brush away the silent, bitter tears that were slipping down my cheeks.

I took a deep breath. "I'm fine. Hey, do you wanna see some pictures Bonnie and Manish Man took of me when I was training?"

"Oh! Uh, sure, why not?" She smiled, but I could still see the concern in her eyes.

I rummaged around in the back of the cupboard, looking for the right album, tossing stuff over my shoulder to land in a pile at Marcy's feet. "Let's see... baby sweater... one of Bonnie's old plastic beakers... shoe... teddy... aha, holobook!" I turned triumphantly, holding the album, to see Marcy crouched on the ground, on hand on the carpet to steady herself, and the other outstretched to the old teddy I'd tossed over my shoulder.

Her eyes traced over it, carefully taking in the shape of the tattered stitches holding on the button eyes, the faded worn-out colour, the tears where stuffing was escaping the seams. Her lips were parted in a soft _O_, and her eyes were filled with an awed, hopeful wonder. "Where did you get this?" She breathed.

"Well, a few years ago, I had a run-in with a witch. Basically, she challenged me to a trivia quiz. If I lost, I got eaten. If I won, however, I got a prize and I could go free." I smirked. "She chose something that she thought I'd know nothing about- combat. It _would_ have worked, with any other prince... anyway, I won, and she gave me that teddy, shoved me out the door, and her house disappeared."

"Can I take it?" She looked up at me, eyes desperate.

"Uh, sure, but... why? It's just a ratty old teddy bear, after all." Her reaction to it threw me off guard.

She cautiously reached out and brushed her fingertips across it's head. "This ratty old teddy bear.. I once counted it my only friend." She picked it up, looking at its face. "Hambo, I want you to meet my friend, Prince Jerricho Bubba Lewis Gumball," She said seriously. She paused, as if listening to its answer. "No, no, be nice. He gets enough of _that_ from Bonnie" She shook her head. She turned the teddy around so it was facing me. "Gumball, this is Hambo. I've had him almost longer than I can remember. He's my most prized possession, but Ash-" She cut off, looking murderous.

That's when things started to make sense. I guessed that this was the teddy her old boyfriend had sold. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hambo." I shook his hand and bowed deeply to him, making Marcy giggle.

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: :) So, do you like the conversation I added at the end of the last chapter? Leave in your reviews a yay or nay on whether I should continue them! I'm thinking I'll do them either every chapter, or every three. ;D See ya!**_


	29. SuperGum!

**Gumball's P.O.V.**

I straightened. "So, uh... do you want to see the pictures?"

She smiled and nodded, hugging Hambo to her chest. "Yeah!"

I pulled up the holobook, sitting on the edge of my bed. I opened it, and, lo and behold, an image of a five or six year old me, swinging a wooden sword.

_'Hyah! Hyah!' _The hologram yelled, lashing out at a wooden post.

Marcy put her hand out as it paused, breathing heavily. The smaller me was tiny, even considering it was only a hologram of _moi_, and his sword was about half the length of his leg, shield held semi-expertly in one hand. He was wearing a carefully-chosen outfit that had taken a full three-quarters of an hour to find; clothes that were casual, yet could be worn for training, with a hint of the frou-frou that enveloped his room, and wardrobe... and the rest of his_ life_ in general glimmering around the edges of his outfit. _Thanks, Mom_...

Marceline's hand passed through the little wooden post, reaching out to the image of me, drawing back quickly as the hologram jumped forward, lunging at the post as if it was an enemy threatening his very life.

"Jeez, vicious, weren't ya?" She peered at the hologram.

I stood up, closing the book and smiling. I shrugged. "I was training."

"Hmm..." She tapped her chin. She then chuckled and took up a combat stance.

"Uh... no." I told her, taking a step back.

"C'mon! You won't hurt me." She nodded encouragingly, eyes narrowed playfully. "You couldn't, little boy."

"I'm not gonna fight you, Marceline." I argued.

She curled her fingers. "Come at me, _house mouse_."

**Marceline's P.O.V.**

Well, the combination of _house_ (Housewife, domestic) and _mouse_ (Jerry) worked quite beautifully. Actually, in truth, it worked a little _too_ well, because the second those words left my lips... well, the next thing I knew, there was a _vault door_ being slammed into my face. A vault door that was no longer attached to Gumball's cupboard by thee thick hinges and six slightly-less-thick-but-still-quite-formidable bolts.

I doubled over, clutching my nose. "Aah!" I yelped, trying to stem the flow of blood from my schnoz.

"Oh, my glob!" Gumball gasped, casting away the door as if it weighed no more than a pillow. _A pillow filled with lead lining,_ my aching nose reminded me. He ran over to me, eyes wide. "I am so, so, so sorry, Marceline! Are you okay?!"

"Dude, I think you broke my nose!" I staggered upright, hearing the door thudding down the stairs.

He turned pale. He took an uncertain step forward. "Here, let me-"

"No, no, hang on..." I pressed my hands to either side of my nose and pushed up sharply. There was a _crack_ and a starburst of _mild_ pain before my nose started healing. "It's alright, Gumball. Dragons have healing to rival that of a vampire," I smiled weakly at him.

"I am so, so sorry. I didn't mean to do that, I just- I don't know what came over me. I certainly didn't mean to hurt you, though!"

"Gumball, it's okay. I shouldn't have fired you up like that. I'm to blame here. Really, you got pissed and did something you regretted. We all do that at times." I reassured.

"That's no excuse! Neither knights nor princes hit ladies like that!" He said stubbornly.

"Well, I forgive you. I totally, utterly and completely forgive you. Now can we stop this nonsense?"

"But... you should be mad at me or something!"

"You're not gonna let this go until I act mad at you, are you?"

"Well, you should be upset with me. You have a right to be.

"Fine. Grr, I'm mad at you." I said very unconvincingly. I paused half a beat. "Okay, I forgive you. We good now?"

"Uh.. uh..." He blinked, not quite sure what to make of my flippant reaction to his... nobleness, I guess he'd call it? "But, but I... I _broke_ your _nose_!"

Something suddenly occurred to me. "_Gumball_..." I said slowly, and he froze.

"Yeah?"

"How heavy would you say that door is?"

"Uh... sixty, seventy pounds?"

"How much do you weigh?"

"About twenty."

"So, you grabbed a door a little under _four times_ your own weight, ripped it away from your cupboard, where it had been attached by three uber thick hinges and a bunch of bolts, brought it forward with enough force to _break a half-dragon's nose_, then tossed it aside like it was a piece of cardboard in your haste to check on me?"

"Um, that sounds... about right..." He said, clearly beginning to understand the... _physical impossibility_ of what had just happened.

"Dude! Paint an 'S' on your chest and call yourself SuperGum!" I laughed, punching him on the shoulder lightly. "Since when were you this strong?!"

"Uh... well, always, I guess. I was a strong kid. I remember when I was training, and some of the knights were actually really impressed." He looked rather sheepish.

"Why don't you beat the stuff out of Si- I mean, Ice Queen when she grabs you?" Not that I _wished _it on Simon's sister, Simone, but I was curious.

"It comes and goes." He mumbled. "And I can't exactly ask her for a raincheck until I'm strong again, can I?"

"No, not really," I mused, still slightly shocked that the self-appointed sissy baker of the Candy Kingdom was, in fact, an occasionally super-strong knight. "But, seriously, dude, _whoa_."

Suddenly, there was a tremendous _crash_ and an armpit-hair-curling scream from downstairs. We looked at each other, our identical expressions that of worry, surprise and mild panic.

"Bonnie!"

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**_

_**(Be aware, I'm writing this at 3.30am, so please don't be picky, seeing this is a spur-of-the-minute mini-story!)**_

_**Me: Okey-dokey, back in the saddle after a lockdown on all computers in the house for moi, so does anyone else wanna talk to me?**_

_**Marshall: *Hiding behind a bush* You're a demonic little psycho, aren't you?**_

_**Me: Nah shit, fangs-for-breath. I don't suffer from insanity- my parents do, though! *Bashes on drumkit in lame attempt to do my own comedy club drum-thingo***_

_**Marshall: Where'd that come from? You didn't have it a minute ago.**_

_**Me: Blame it on AuthorSpace.**_

_**Marshall: Huh?**_

_**(Marceline and Gumball walk up)**_

_**Marcy: So YOU'RE the one behind all this! *Flares her wings menacingly***_

_**Me: Hey, hey! I WILL do bad things to you! *Brandishing my pen threateningly***_

_**Marcy: Oh, because a) making me look like a semi-psychotic ditz, b) making my brother hate me, c) turning me into a friggin' DRAGON and d) making Bubba here break my nose aren't bad things at ALL. *Slow claps***_

_**Me: *Narrowed eyes* Bring it on. I'm the author. *Tap my temple* Got it memorized?**_

_**Marcy: Axel fangirl, huh? Eat flame! *Breathes fire at me***_

_**Gumball: Wait, who's Axel?**_

_**Marshall: Dude, Kingdom Hearts 2? Disney?**_

_**Gumball: Sorry, I was raised on Warner Brothers.**_

_**Marcy: So THAT'S why you never get my references! *Pauses, lets go of my throat and walks up to Gumball* MEEPMEEP! *Takes off***_

_**Gumball: *Holds up sign, reading; 'I walked straight into that, didn't I?'***_

_**Marshall: Where'd you get that?**_

_**Gumball: AuthorSpace.**_

_**Marshall: What the heck's that?**_

_**Me: *Holding dictionary in front of my face* 'AuthorSpace- noun, place in between chapters where items used purely for comedic value are stored. Also where Author's Notes are acted out.'**_

_**All three of us (Marshall, Gumball and Me): The more you learn, the more you know!**_


	30. Goodbye, Gumball, Bonjour, Bubba!

**Bubblegum's P.O.V.**

I dived behind my throne, screaming blue murder. Well, wouldn't you scream if a giant hunk of metal and stone slammed down in front of you just as you stood and were about to take a step forward?

Finn dashed forward to see if I was okay as Jake started checking out the... vault... door?

"I-I'm fine." I slowly pried my fingers loose of their death grip on the throne back. Finn guided me to sit down, and I smiled at him gratefully.

Gumball and Marceline came stampeding down the stairs that the door had come crashing down, Marcy clutching a teddy, Gumball with his old shield on his arm.

"Are you okay?" He ran over, jumping almost effortlessly over the door to stand in front of me.

"Peachy I almost got killed by a flying door." I grumbled, dusting myself off.

He grimaced. "Sorry."

I froze, mid-dust. "_Sorry_? Wait, you..."

Several memories surfaced in my mind, coming out of that nice little place that I stuffed in a box, locked and hid in a mental closet. A few nice little memories of yelping, ducking swinging wooden blades and getting in trouble for turning my dear older cousin varying colours.

I jumped out of my throne. "You're not..." I choked. "You're not actually going back to that idea, are you?"

"What's wrong with it?" He said defensively, cradling his shield. "Bonnie, I've always been a warrior, you know that. I just figured, why keep up the pretense of the poofy prince? It's not who I am, no matter what Mom thinks."

I, meanwhile was freaking. "But-but she's gonna kill you, and maybe me! And what's gonna happen to your kingdom?!"

"Uh, Bonnie?" Marcy touched my arm.

"And, I mean, I didn't actually _mean_ it! Why would I want you to go back to that when your mother despises it so much!"

"P.B.?" Finn looked worriedly at my cheeks as they began to glow slightly, a certain sign of a Candy Person about to totally flip out.

"Plus, maybe the poofy prince is all anyone knows! Fionna's probably gonna be mad that she's been made redundant!"

Gumball scooped up the door and dashed out. "I'm getting out of here before I make her flip! You two calm her down!" He called over his shoulder as he ran out the door.

Marcy shot me a look somewhere between sympathy and why-you-selfish-little-bubble-head-he's-whoever-he -wants-to-be as she walked out after him.

I slumped back into my throne, groaning and massaging my temples as Finn patted me on the shoulder sympathetically.


	31. Son Of A-

**Marceline's P.O.V.**

So, after _that_, I walked out after Gumball, hoping Bonnie hadn't wounded his fragile male ego too badly. "Hellooo... Bubba? You around?" I called, searching for him.

I walked through another doorway, into some kind of fancy sitting room. I flopped down on the couch near the door, yawning. '_Geez, how hard is it to find a pink warrior prince carrying a vault door?'_ I thought, closing my eyes.

"Who are you, and _what_ do you think you're doing?" A high-pitched, snobby, British-sounding, regal voice snapped at me.

I opened my eyes to see some chubby, prissy, snooty, prim woman standing in front of my face. She was swathed in lace and silk, the elaborate skirt of her gown pushing a good forty centimeters out from her waist. "My name's Marceline. I'm taking a short break from looking for one of my pals, Prince Gumball?"

Her eyes narrowed. "And why, pray tell, would you be looking for Jerricho?"

"Why do you wanna know?" I retorted. "Who are you, his _mother_ or something?"

"As a matter of fact, you rude little girl, _I am_."

I blinked. Okay, _that_ I had not been expecting. "Well, have you seen him?" I asked, trying to lean towards something more polite.

"Why are you looking for him?"

"To see if he's okay," I replied, coldly, but still polite.

She just glared, her lip curling up in obvious distaste.

We gave each other dirty looks for a few seconds before I got up sharply, fluttering my wings a little as I walked away, my tail swaying behind my, silently fuming.


	32. Jane And The Dragon

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, I'm typing as fast as I can at school with fake nails on (I have yet to figure out how to get off the good salon-quality ones -.-) but I'm probably gonna end up posting a bunch of stuff up over the next few days, then I'm probably not gonna be able to post for AGES :S so... hope you guys enjoy the new chapters I'm putting up over the next week or so :D**_

**Marceline's P.O.V.**

I ran into Gumball later. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked, walking alongside him down the corridor.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Is Bonnie alright?"

"Yeah, she didn't blow up or anything." I bit my lip, thinking as I studied his face. "You _sure_ you're okay?"

"Yes, Marceline, I'm one hundred percent fine, I swear." He took my hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

I stared at our joined hands for a few seconds. "Uh..." I snapped my mouth shut and smiled nervously.

He was studying my face as he let go of my hand. "Are _you_ alright?"

"I'm cool. Just kinda pissed." I sighed.

"Why?" He looked genuinely concerned, so I looked him in the eye.

"Let's just say I finally met your mom."

"My mother _is_ quite charming, isn't she?" He said sarcastically.

"Yeah... Can I be brutally, totally, honestly blunt?"

"Go ahead. Just remember- she may be the most despicable, pushy person I know, but she is still my mother." He pointed out.

I pondered for a moment. "How many cusses am I allowed?"

He tried very hard to keep a straight face. "None."

"Well, my first thoughts consisted of snobby, prim, British, regal, and kinda chubby."

"Okay." He held a very dignified expression... for about three seconds. He snorted, laughing hard. "Well, you don't hold back, Marcy, I'll give you that"

I snickered. "Nice laugh, your Highness."

He raised an eyebrow. "Thanks, _your Majesty_."

"Not. The. Vampire. Queen. Anymore." I poked myself in the chest. "Dragon chick, remember?"

He cackled suddenly, one hand on his stomach and the other bracing him against the wall to steady himself and he roared with laughter.

"Uh, you right there?" I asked, bobbing down to look him in the eye.

His face was as red as my bass as he caught his breath, standing up again. "It just penetrated- you're a dragon and I'm an aspiring knight."

I chuckled. "Yeah, irony sorta reaches up and slaps you across the face some days, huh?"

"Uh-huh." He nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Well, I'm the dragon- that makes you Jane!" I joked, gesturing to him.

He looked confused. "Who?"

I sighed. "Old ABC3 references from before the Mushroom war are wasted on you, aren't they?"

"Uh... I guess?" He shrugged apologetically.


	33. Heat Signature

**Marceline's P.O.V.**

So, Gumball poked his head into a door. "Good news, Scales, it's Lady Elizabeth-less."

"'_Scales'_?" I raised an eyebrow.

He reached up and pulled a scale off of my cheek, dropping it into my palm. "Scales." He confirmed. He grabbed my hand and I was led through the door, which turned out to go into the sitting room I'd been in earlier. He flopped onto the couch, sighing as he relaxed. He looked up, grinning contentedly, and patted the space next to him. "C'mon, it's a helluva lot comfier than yours." He teased.

"Alright, I guess." I smiled and sat next to him.

"Hey, do you like the movie _Heat Signature_?"

"Do I, do I!" I bounced up and down excitedly before freezing and sheepishly quenching my childish reaction to my much-beloved favourite movie. "Uh, I mean... yeah, it's a good movie, I guess," I shrugged nonchalantly, tucking my hair behind my ear.

He laughed and got up, walking over to a drawer and pulling out a portable holoplayer and a familiar cassette case. "Ta-dah!" He grinned goofily.

"Put it on, fool!" I ordered jokingly.

He, quite theatrically, placed the holoplayer on the blue crystal table in front of the couch, sliding the tape in fluidly. He smiled and sat down, on arm thrown over the back of the couch.

I sat, entranced by the familiar images and audio. However, when the first really scary bit came on, I screamed and automatically dived toward the nearest thing- which happened to be Gumball.

He'd halfway slid down into a lying position, and he scrambled upright. "Marcy? I thought you'd seen this before!" He wrapped his arms around my shoulders to comfort me, pausing the video.

"I have. Thousands of times. But it's _because_ it scares me that I love it." I replied, peeking up at him from under my fringe.

"You seriously are strange, Marcy." He shook his head, letting go and continuing the movie.

We kept watching, but eventually it got to the part where one of the doctors gets eaten. I sat, frozen in sheer terror, as Gumball made noises like he was about to throw up as the monster threw the guy around, jumping every time you could hear the snap of another bone breaking. I closed my eyes, wincing every time he screamed.

I cracked my eyelids open just in time to see the monster rip off his head, blood spraying every which way as I squeaked, throwing a pillow over my face and trembling.

Gumball paused it again, turning off the holoplayer and gathering me up into his arms. He held me, stroking my hair until I calmed down. "It's okay, it's okay." He soothed. "It's just a movie, Marce. C'mon, what're you scared of?"

"I always hear that the monster's real. Marshall always used to say that whenever I watched it."

"Listen, do you really think that we'd ever let some horrible monster like that get you?"

"I guess not..." I said uncertainly.

"Right. C'mon, calm down. You're shaking." He trapped my quaking hands, hugging me gently.

"I know, I'm sorry." I frowned.

"It's not your fault, what are you talking about? I'm the one who brought up the globdamn movie." He patted my head.

I laid my head on his chest and focused on the sound of his beating heart. I managed to slow my breathing a little and forget about the monster in the movie as I considered what was happening. Being scared had never paid off more...


	34. One Of These Days, Marshall

**Marceline's P.O.V.**

It was there, leaning against Gumball's chest, that I realized I had never felt more at peace, so I took the opportunity to reflect on a few things. Did I _really _know who I was, what I wanted?

Yes. I was Marceline Abadeer, half-dragon, half-elf rocker botanist. I wanted my brother to accept me (check!), to have my friends like me for just being me (check!), get Hambo back (check!), have Simon remember me (Ah... it's a work in progress.), and... Gumball.

He was smart (No matter how he compared himself to Bonnie.), funny (And I mean funny in a good way, not like Marsh constantly pranking people.), cute (Cute-handsome, not cute like Schwabel) and he still cared about me, even after every globdamn thing that my presence had put him through. I cocked my head slightly suddenly, considering my chances. I remembered Fionna talking to me, what seemed like ages ago, but it could've only been about a week and a half, and telling me that I shouldn't ever give up on what my heart was telling me, that I should never give up on my love for Gumball.

"What's on your mind? You look thoughtful." He gazed into my eyes.

"I think I just had an epiphany." I murmured, leaning my head on his chest again and listening to his heartbeat, which I could swear speed up a little, but I may have been imagining it, letting my imagination and hope run off with each other.

"Can I hear it?"

"I dunno. I'm thinking."

There was a silence for a few more moments as I weighed my options. '_Oh, well. It's all or nothin',' _I thought. "Gumball... what, honestly, do you think of me?"

"You're really quite strange," He started, and I felt my stomach drop slightly before her continued, "And I like that you don't really care what anyone thinks. You're unique in your own way, and that's good. You're smart and funny and pretty." He normally would've blushed somewhere there, but he didn't, which surprised me."You're the most I-don't-even-have-a-word-to-describe-you-but-you'r e-great girl I've ever met." (Me being _incredibly _aware that he said 'girl' and not 'person'.) "In short, I l-"

Marshall came exploding through the doorway. "_Guys! There's something wrong with me!_"

I got up, _very_ slowly, and walked over to him. I looked up at his face. "Hey, Marshy?" I said sweetly. He cocked his head. I slugged him across the face. He went wheeling back, through... a... wall? He floated back through the _still-intact_ wall.

"_See?!_"


	35. Dumbing It Down

**Gumball's P.O.V.**

"_See?!_" Marshall waved his hands through the doorway, fazing through as if he were no more than a hologram.

"What the..." I stepped forward and went to poke him in the chest. My hand passed through his torso, and I raised my hand so that my wrist was sticking out of his face.

"Do you _mind_?" He floated back, out of my reach.

"But I slugged you. I gave you a good ol' fashioned right hook to the jaw." Marcy pointed out.

"Poke him." I suggested.

She jabbed him in the ribs. "Ow! Gee, _thanks_, Bubba." He said dryly. I shrugged. "I'm gonna go talk to P.B., okay?"

"We'll come, too." Marcy nodded.

"Let's go." I agreed, walking to the door. Marceline followed me, and Marshall floated through the wall, taking the most direct route to the hallway.

XXX

"What's next?! Is Fionna going to start sprouting fur?! Jeez, it looks like you've got some kind of foreign energy radiating around your body. It's almost... necromatic... but more supernatural than magical. I honestly don't know." Bonnie said, holding a scanner wand over Marshall's chest.

"So, how do I touch stuff, _doc_? And why can't I?" He asked.

"Well, have you ever shown any... ghostly traits before?"

"Well, I got changed into a ghost once, when I was hanging out with Fionna, but we scared each other and got turned back to normal."

"Standard ghost fright curse." Marceline said quietly.

Bonnie tapped her chin. "Hm... with emotional upheaval between Marcy and Fi, your body will have possibly run drastically low on adrenaline, and used any residual energy you could to keep you going, which could, in theory, adapt your DNA with a ghostly gene, thus meaning that while you still float and more than likely consume pigmentation, your molecular structure can alter it's density and construction at a moment's notice. To do so, it should take a neurological impulse to cross the synapses, particularly of a certain amount of energy- because the brain uses varying levels and kinds of miniscule electric bursts to send information along your body- and depending on the strength of such a burst, that decides whether your form is tangible or intangible."

"Uh..." Marshall's face was blank. "Wait, what?"

"In _English_, Marsh, you can pass through stuff or punch it if you think about it." I said, translating Bonnie-ese into standard Oooian/Aaaian.

"Oh, cool!" He exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.

"That's what I just said." Bonnie complained. "But you missed out on a lot of important things, Gumball. For example, the explanation of the synapses. By the way, Marshall, you're also sun-proof, because your constantly vibrating molecules can't be hit by ultraviolet rays from the sun."

"Because your molecules are dancing, the sun can't get a lock on it." I explained. He nodded.

Bonnie gave me a dirty look.

"I'm dumbing it down for him, Bonnie." I told her, not unkindly.

"Well, he's not an idiot. You don't need to!" She argued, which earnt a snort from Marceline. She rounded on her. "Listen, Marceline, you're a good friend of mine, but you don't need to treat your brother like a dunce, so back off and leave him be!" She glared at Marcy venomously.

"Hey, hey! Quit it, Bonnie, she's just kidding!" I narrowed my eyes. "Leave Marcy outta this. If you've got a bone to pick with me, fine. But don't start ranting at Bonnie just because Marshall isn't a mastermind like you! We can't all be Einsteins!"


	36. Years Of Practise

**Marshall's P.O.V.**

"Of course not- the greatest minds came not from _Neanderthals_!" P.B. roared.

All of a sudden, I thought quietly to myself, '_Well, technically they did.'_ But I wasn't gonna say anything, as the two gummy royals were on a roll, and I valued my own semi-corporeal, sunproof skin.

"At least I'm not a geek!" Bubba snapped.

"Better a geek than a dweeb!"

"Well, you're a total nerd! I mean, hello, have you ever thought to do something else with your life then shut yourself away in some crusty lab with your experiments?"

"Look who's talking! Slap some glasses on you and you're a perfect high school dork!"

"Whatever you say, Dr. Frankenstein."

"Well, at least I'm not some prissy half-wit!" She yelled, obviously not considering Bubba's current reaction to sissy-Bubba comments.

"Do you want a vault door to the face?!" He bellowed. He then shrank back slightly. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for." He apologised.

"Oh, shut up, you squishy, soft, self-pitying simpleton of a Sucrose Sapien!" She shrieked.

"I'm not the one who led on a kid for three years before breaking his heart!" He shot back.

She gave a scream of rage and hurled a beaker filled to the brim with some pus-yellow bubbling liquid at his head.

He snatched up a stirring stick and lashed out at the flying chemical, _slicing the beaker cleanly in half_.

One half went sailing through the air to land safely on a cushion on the nearby couch, and the other half passed through my chest to almost daintily smash against the wall.

I, meanwhile, was doing a goldfish impression, thinking '_Howhedodat?!'_

Marceline looked a little stunned at the fight, but not surprised or shocked at Bubba's... un-princely-ness.

I had thought that I was one of if not the only person that Bubba was Bubba around, rather Prince Gumball. He might extrude a polite, prim shell around himself when other people were around, particularly Lady Elizabeth Gumball, his tyrant mother, but he was, in reality, a bit of a risk-taker with a heart of gold, a little bit of a prankster, with a devious side to rival my own. Of course, I'd never seen this side, this battle-attuned version, this icy, fighting edition of my bud before.

"Du-u-u-ude..." I blinked, staring at him. I half-noticed that the chemical his cousin had thrown was slowly eating through the floor. "How'd you _do_ that?"

Gumball put down the stirring stick and smiled at me. "Years of practise, Marshall. Years of practise." With that, he scooped up Marceline, bridal style ('_Jeez, those two are on and off like a Christmas light!'_) and jumped out of the window.


	37. Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eee Falli...

**Marceline's P.O.V.**

'_Nice move, wise guy. There better be a lake underneath us,' _I thought as the air swished past my face. I looked down, and to my _great_ joy, only saw hard peanut-brittle sidewalk and cold, unforgiving fudge garden.

I tensed. I'd never used my wings before, but _hopefully_ I could flare my wings and catch enough air in them to avoid cleanup on aisle Bubba. I then realised that my wings were ever-so-slightly pinned between me and Bubba. '_Correction; cleanup on aisle _us_...' _I thought, closing my eyes, preparing for the


	38. Boi-oi-oi-oi-oi-oi-oing!

**Gumball's P.O.V**

_**BOING!**_

I landed, as I used to as a kid. Not missing a beat, I kept walking for a few paces before I realised something; how I was holding Marceline. With speed rivaling that of Cake flying through the air to claw my face when she thought I was... ah, _ungentlemanly_ to Fionna, I returned Marceline to her feet and stepped back, blushing furiously.


	39. I'm Not Dead Yet!

**Marceline's P.O.V.**

'_I'm not dead.'_ I thought back to the strange noise I'd heard, moments after I closed my eyes. Cracking open said orbs of sight, I found myself swiftly being placed on my feet by a blushing Bubba. A long-disused part of my brain started up with a bang, a shudder and a cough, and began to number-crunch the physics of my recent past.

1) A 36-story fall out of Bonnie's tower lab

2)The general hardness of the Candy Kingdom streets.

3) The chances of a non-winged version of myself surviving such a fall combined with such a landing (_**0%**_)

4) The unknown factor that has changed this... pancake-y outcome.

Conclusion: Gumball acts like a giant shock absorber.

After calmly processing this, I asked, "Why are you blushing, Gumball?"

He stared down at the ground, hands shoved in his pockets and one foot dragging slowly back and forth, making a little furrow in the dirt.

I suddenly remembered what happened _just before_ we stepped out for a breath of fresh air... and/or sidewalk, and blushed so hard, my scales took on the appearance of rubies. "Ah.. I see." He slowly nodded.

Steering the conversation to slightly safer topics, I asked him other than _years of practice_, how he'd done that trick with the beaker.\

"I actually used air currents. I swiped the stick through the air at the beakers, and wind speed and currents did the rest. The technique's called The Way Of The Blunted Blade." He shrugged.

"Cool. Um... would you mind if I cooked my brother?" I asked, the scarlet hue of my scales fading.

"Why?" He looked confused.

"For, ah, interrupting you earlier." I blushed again. "So, what were you saying?"

Um, I-I-I... y-you're... and I... uh..." He stuttered.

My stomach dropped a little. "Nah, if you can't... uh... remember it or whatever, it's okay." I said lamely, feeling a concentrated throb of pain starburst through my chest for moment before it faded away.

"I'm sorry..." He said quietly.

We stood there awkwardly for a few minutes before I nodded towards the castle wall next to us. "Uh, we should head in, shouldn't we?" I asked.

"Um, yeah, probably. C'mon." I half-expected him to take my hand, and it hurt more than it should've when he just turned and walked inside, hands still shoved in pockets.

I hurried after him, making what I saw as a very important decision. I was going to lock away any feelings I had for this boy, and keep him at arm's length. I wasn't quite sure what was going on, and until I was, I decided to crush my crush.


	40. DENIED!

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okies, if you want to really get what kind of feel I'm setting for this chapter, open a new tab. Go to Youtube and put on Pink- Just Give Me A Reason. Viola.**_

**Gumball's P.O.V.**

I walked quickly back to the front gates of the castle, taking long strides in an effort to keep ahead of Marceline. If I had to look at her right now, I would flip out, I swear to glob. I sighed as I bypassed the banana guards, instructing them to let Marcy in, too. They're not idiots, but sometimes it's good to make sure..

I saw Marshall sulking nearby and walked up to him. "What's wrong, shade-sucker?"

"Uh..." He blushed.

"Does it have something to do with a certain bunny-eared adventuress?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No!" He yelled, a _little _too quickly.

"Marsh..." I raised an eyebrow.

"Um... well... maybe. So what if it does?!" He retorted, face bright red.

"Nothing. I just had a hunch about her..." I shrugged.

I let the bait sit there for a few seconds, and, sure enough, he took it. "What? She's not into me like that."

I scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"What do you know that I don't, Bubba?"

"I know that she and Cake have 'whispered'"- I waggled my fingers- "conversations that they assume I don't hear. They generally consist of Cake encouraging her to 'make a move' on me, Fionna refusing, Cake questioning, and Fionna goes red and tells her that she can't there's another guy somewhere, and I'm not the right one for her. There's only three guys she's ever liked- Infern (Flame Prince), me and you, Marshall. And I somehow don't think either Fi or Infern are gonna want to try getting together."

"Fine." He held up his hands in defeat. "Just so you can see how wrong you are, dude."

XXX

Several minutes later, I hid behind a couch as Fionna walked into the room, looking for Marshall, who had, after much coaxing, called out to her. He sat awkwardly on the edge of the couch, trying _way_ too hard to be casual. "Hey, Fi. Sup?"

"Not much. You?" She flopped down, carefully staying a small distance away from him.

"Meh. Hey, can I talk to you about something serious?" He asked, touching her hand.

"What's wrong? Is Peeg okay?" She sat up straight. I winced. Of course she'd be worried about me... I was her ward for protecting... although, with my re-knighting, she may be slightly redundant.

"No." I _heard _Marshall deflate. "It's about... me."

"Oh... uh... okay, shoot." She sounded a little wary now.

"Well... oh, screw it. I really _do_ love you. You're smart and funny, and I love your smile. I think you're sweet and we could last for a while. You're pretty and kind, and I wish you were mine. I know I screwed stuff up a lot, l-like at LSP's party with the cream puffs and stuff, and then I kissed you randomly, and then I just blurted out h-how I feel. I really didn't mean for you to find out like that. I'm seriously sorry, for being such a total idiot, and... and everything. But I'm not sorry for my feelings, Fionna, and I love you." He finished with a small sigh.

I blinked, eyes wide. '_Whoa...'_ I thought.

"Marshall... jeez, you're yanking my chain again, aren't you?" Fionna said, and I practically _felt_ Marshall Lee flinch.

"No, I'm not, Fionna." He said weakly.

"Well, you're not gonna trick me again. I mean, glob, I'm just so _sick_ of your games! I can only take so much before I put my foot down, alright? Now, unless you wanna fake your own death again, I'm outta here. _Leave. Me. Alone._" If her tone had been much colder, she would have icicles hanging from her teeth.

"But, Fi-"

"_Dude_! Do I need to start quoting Twilight at you to make you leave." She paused and smirked."You know, it's ironic. You hate him, but a vampire trying to make doe eyes at a human? Hello, _Mr. Cullen_." She spat before turning her heel and stalking out the door.

I cautiously poked my head over the back of the couch. Marshall's shoulders were shaking slightly, and he was white as a sheet. "Satisfied? Happy now you've witnessed me getting my heart broken?" He asked bitterly.

"I'm sorry, Marsh. This is my fault. I shouldn't have pushed you to talk to her." I grimaced.

Marshall shook his head sadly and floated out through a wall into the courtyard.

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**_

_**(Somewhere in AuthorSpace...)**_

_**milomeepit: Huh? Oh, must be that time of chapter again. 'Sup, guys! *Waves cheerfully at the varying broken-hearted, injured, unsure-of-their-own-existence, or otherwise unhappy characters***_

_**Gumball: *Glaring at her* Really?!**_

_**milomeepit: What?**_

_**Marceline: We... are going... to kill you.**_

_**milomeepit: What did I do?**_

_**(Marshall starts singing 'The Special Two' under his breath, glaring at milomeepit)**_

_**Gumball: *Rolls up his sleeves* Don't forget, milomeepit, you gave me super strength.**_

_**milomeepit: Uh... um... *Backing away, hands held up in (POINTLESS) defence* Eh, heh-heh-heh, c'mon, guys... it's just for fun...**_

_**Marshall: *Comes flying at milomeepit, grabbing her by the shirt and lifting her up into the air* Just. For. FUN, HUH?!**_

_**milomeepit: Yep. Uh.. don't kill me. please...**_

_**Marshall: And why not?**_

_**milomeepit: I... I'll fix it, I swear! *Hands clasped together pleadingly***_

_**Marceline: You'll fix everything? *Heavily skeptical tone***_

_**milomeepit: Uh-huh, I swear! J-Just gimmie a few chapters!**_


	41. Our Private Eden

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_

_**milomeepit: *Tied to a chair with a laptop sitting on my lap which I am poking the keyboard with a chopstick held between my teeth* After my near death at the hands of my own characters, I am frantically typing to save my bacon (and eggs, toast, etc.). I may be slow with updates for a bit (Something about using a chopstick on a half-dead laptop), so please be patient! Oh, crap, gotta go, Marcy's coming!**_

**Marceline's P.O.V.**

I scuffed my shoe back and forth on the rock. I was sitting on a rocky outcropping near-ish to my cave, pondering about my own... well, _me_.

Upheaval from turning into a dragon, I was getting used to, but as for a certain pain-in-the-butt, annoying, awkward, useless, dreamy, cute, sweet, lovable...

"Gah!" I lept up and started pacing. "What's wrong with me?" I wondered aloud. It somehow seemed to help, to let my thoughts out into the empty, still air, letting them out from clouding up my head. "Seriously, I'm more than 1600 years old, a powerful form of dragon, can fly... well, I need lessons, but the point is made, I breathe fire, for crying out loud, and-and then he comes along and makes me look like a total ditzy royalty groupie, and-and... _aaaaaaah_!" I half-screamed, half-dragon roared frustratedly at the sky, spitting sparks in my wailing. I kicked furiously at a rock, sending it flying a good few hundred feet across the grassy plains that stretched before me. I yelled semi-unintelligibly at the clouds above me for a while, mostly ranting about Gumball and my 'dad', Hunson Abadeer.

See, my problems weren't just my love life, or even my brother, before we sorted that out. Hunson -considering I now knew (sort of) who my _real_ dad was, I refused to call him Dad- was always finding some way to make me miserable. I was treated as an outcast by him, practically. If you asked 90% of the Nightospherians, I was the 'Abadeer Half-Breed', just because I was a turned vampire, rather than a born one. Hunson, however, was still one of the main people who had helped raise me, and I just wanted to be accepted.

I sighed, a little out of breath, and sat on my rock again. "Why can't I just wave a wand around and be perfect? Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo?" I waved my finger in the air and tapped myself on the head. I felt my eyes tearing up a little. "Oh, screw it." I muttered. "I never get a moment to myself, so I may as well." I let the tears slip over onto my cheeks, letting a sob rip itself from my throat.

I heard a shuffling of feet behind me, my elven hearing pricking into my self-pitying state. I glanced behind me and groaned inwardly. Gumball was picking his way over tangles of foot-and-a-half long grass, making his way toward my outcropping of rock. I stood up and took off, feeling my legs pumping underneath me, carrying me further and further away from him, deeper and deeper into the forest treeline before me. I plunged headlong into the thick, dark greenery as I heard Gumball call out to me.

"Marceline? It's just me, Gumball! Marcy?"

'_Yeah. _Just _you.' _I thought bitterly, forcing my legs to go even faster, hearing him start to chase after me. He, probably from all his training, hardwired into his brain from when he was young, and from a couple slightly more recent sessions, was actually quite fast, closing the gap between us at a decent pace.

My foot caught at a root, and I face planted. I gasped painfully, feeling the air rush out of my lungs. I coughed, pushing against the ground to push myself up into a sitting position. I shook my head, fluttering my wings a little and getting up, taking off again and trying to keep ahead of G-

"Hey, Marcy!" I felt his hand slip around my wrist. "Calm down! It's just me!"

I opened my mouth, about to say something along the lines of _that's the problem_, but realised that it would probably hurt his feelings. "Oh, oopsie. I thought you were someone else." I grinned sheepishly, thinking, '_Oh, god, I'm lying through my teeth, he's gonna see right through me!'_

"Oh, okay." He smiled.

I gently pulled my wrist from his grip. "Um... so, yeah... what did you want?"

A confused expression crossed his face. "I... actually can't remember." He chuckled. "What a scatterbrain, huh?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess." I smiled. "Hey, do you wanna see something?"

"Oh, alright. What?" He looked intrigued.

"C'mon, I'll show you. Follow me. _If _you can keep up." I teased, stepping away from him and turning, taking off towards a clearing I sometimes hung out in on cloudy days back when I was a vamp, or sometimes I'd lie on the grass, feeling the blades prick lightly at my skin, and look up at the stars.

I sighed at the memory, then my eye twitched slightly as I remembered hanging out there with Ash, way back when.

"What's wrong?" Gumball asked.

"Oh, nothing." I said lightly, skipping ahead of him, laughing as he drew back slightly in surprise.

He grinned, showing a cheeky display of cute buck teeth. "Oh, _that's_ how it is, is it?"

"Yep. But it's kinda hard to race when only one of us knows where we're going." I pointed out.

He shrugged. "True, true." I led him through a few small paths, coming to a stop at the edge of the clearing.

He stepped forward, awe crossing his face. I couldn't blame him, though. The trees provided a thin canopy across most of the space, leaving a small hole in the top, where sunshine pooled on the ground. The golden light dappled across the small rolls of ground, making a small moat-like pond in a half-circle around the far side of the clearing sparkle, tiny fish dancing in the water, mirrored in the air by a cluster of sparkling butterflies, their wings shining like spiderwebs with dew on them. Speaking of spiderwebs, there was several large, shiny ones spread on the tops of the trees, making a large net across the clearing. It was, all in all, a pretty impressive place.

"Wow..." He blinked, trying to look at everything at once. He looked like a kid in a candy store. I snickered, suddenly realising what thought had just crossed my mind.

He glanced at me. "You okay there?"

I nodded. "Just a funny thought."

"Okay... wow... beautiful." He mused, flicking another look at me.

"I know." I considered my options. '_Oh, what the hell. It can only kill me,' _I thought. "Hey, I think I left my bass around here a few days ago, near that tree. Can you get it? My ankle kinda hurts after my fall." I smiled, sitting on a log near the pool of water.

"Oh, sure." He walked over to the tree. "Behind the tree?"

"Yeah." I replied, thinking, '_Damn, this better work.._


	42. See? Even Oooians Text!

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, thank you, Undeniable Weirdness, I'll pass it on, and I may be able to at least get rid of the chopstick and type with my hands. **_

_**:) To set the feel of it, when Marcy starts singing, put on Truly, Madly, Deeply by Cascada. It was the first dance at the wedding (If you don't know what I'm talking about, YOU, m'dear, obviously have not been paying attention in earlier Author's Notes!), and it's been stuck in my head for... I can't be bothered actually **_**counting** _**the days, but since March 30th, so **_**HERE**_**! Does this appease you, Gods Of The Catchy Song?!**_

_**(Kiss pose stolen COMPLETELY from Swan Lake)**_

_**(DEREK AND ODETTE FOREVER!)**_

**Gumball's P.O.V.**

I walked around the tree, musing to myself about my surroundings. I noticed a piece of paper lying on top of the bass, and I picked it up. It unfolded as I picked it up, and I found myself staring into my own eyes.

A sketch of me covered most of the page, but here and there were words and phrases, most of them seemingly relating to me; '_baking_', '_my world lights up from a smile, maybe we could hang for a while?_' '_saw a photo and since been crushing on this prince_.'

'_What the... it's... no, it can't be... actually... what?!' _As you can see, my brain was taking very sophisticated and logical paths to try and process this.

I studied for a moment the _detail _in the sketch of me. It was, quite clearly, me when we'd been gardening in her little greenhouse. There was a happy expression on my face, a little dirt on my cheek from when she'd tossed dirt at me and some of it had fragmented upwards, There was a tiny, tiny dimple on my other cheek, one that _I_ had trouble finding in a mirror, even after living with it for almost 19 line was gently pulled across the paper with obvious care, every so often overlapping with the lyrics she'd been writing.

I carefully folded it back in half, smoothing the line neatly. I tucked the paper under the strings of the bass and carried it carefully back to Marceline. "Here you go."

"Thanks." She flashed a dazzling smile at me, and my head snapped to a mental image of the paper again.

"N-no problem." I replied.

"Um... oh, did you see my lyric sheet?" She asked, seemingly suspicious, but, considering this was Marcy, whether me seeing it was planned.

"Um... yes." I said quietly.

She cocked her head, thinking for a moment. She patted the log next to her. "Sit down, Gumball?" She asked.

I complied, and she stood, picking up her bass. "It's still a work in progress, but I've been writing a song... you wanna hear it?"

"Yeah, of course." I smiled.

She plucked at the strings a little and cleared her throat. "It's called _The Candy Confession_, okay? Um..."

She started playing, a sweet melody of notes that melded together into a harmony. I listened intently, enthralled. Not even Marshall could play like that, and he was the best performer I knew. She started singing;

"_In a whirl of life,_

_I was in so much strife,_

_My head was full of bad stuff,_

_My ears and eyes full of fluff._

_It was no wonder,_

_My world was torn asunder._

_I saw a photo and since,_

_I've had a crush on this prince._

_I've heard he likes baking,_

_Is there another girl he's dating?_

_I have a life of horrid times,_

_But for me, he makes the sun shine._

_I leave behind who I pretend I am,_

_Being myself, with him I can._

_He lights up my whole world_

_With a simple little smile,_

_He's the one I love,_

_Maybe we could hang for a while?_

_Never mind what's happening_

_With me and my brother,_

_I wanna be with this prince,_

_For me there is no other...'_

She looked at the ground.

There was a silence for a few moments before I slowly brought my hands together, quietly clapping as she glanced up at me, eyes brimming with tears of emotion and face bright red from a glowing blush.

"Y-you _liked_ it?" She asked disbelievingly.

"Of course I did. It was amazing. It had a really nice tone to it." I said after a small pause.

Her eyes flickered for a moment, her shy, emotional, embarrassed state wavering to show a rather disappointed, almost _angry_ face. "You... you... did you u_nderstand_ it?"  
"Um..." I said.

She deflated slightly. "I... I... I don't believe this. But, hey, who was I kidding, anyway?" She laughed a little. "'There's no way you can't do this if you try, Marcy! He likes you, anyway, trust me! He'll love you for you.' Shame on me for listening to a kid Finn's age. How could I believe it? Fionna's good at making that happen, I guess." She looked up at the sun through the hole in the tree canopy. " But you're a _prince_, and I'm just a mixed-breed, scaly, fire-breathing bottomfeeder. I mean, who am I kidding? Maybe your mom _was_ right, I'm not good enough to shine your fancy shoes." Tears started falling from her eyes. "I'm some form of mud you stepped in, and I guess it _is _about time you shoes were cleaned. Glob, that sounds even stupider than I was, and that's _hard_."

I, for my part, had been surprised into silence, frozen by my shock at her outburst. I stood up, grabbing her shoulder. "Marceline! Stop it."

She looked at me. "Right. Before His Highness sets the banana guards onto the crazy chick."

"No, that's not it at all! I hate hearing you talk about yourself like that! I don't care what _status_ in the order of whatever you are! You're you, Marceline, and that's why I..." I trailed off for a moment, as she looked at me, with eyes as innocent and confused as a three-year-old. I sighed and touched her wing, gently pulling it out and around so she could see it. I brushed my hand along her wing. "See this? This wing? This, smooth, scaly, sleek, purple-black wing?" I whispered.

"Y... yeah?" She breathed, eyes wide.

"It's amazing. By simple association. It's a part of you, and I accept and love every part of you, Marceline." I fully realised what I'd said, and, for once, I didn't wish I could curl into a little ball and hide under a rock.

She blinked. "You love... every part of me?"

"Each and every part, from your wingtips to the tail. You're kind and compassionate, but you don't let people walk all over 'll stand up for your friends and what you believe in. You're beautiful, and you can _sing_, and you're witty, and funny, and I... there are so many words that I can think of to describe you, and yet _none_ of them fit right, because they don't half describe you. No word I have come across does you justice." I boldly ran my fingers up from her wing along her shoulder and up her throat to brush against her cheek, cupping her face against my palm as I leaned in slightly-

There it was. The world sparkled behind my eyelids for a few moments, and all I could feel, all around me, was the feeling of _Marceline_. I felt her hand tentatively find a place on my shoulder, and I cupped my hand behind her head, feeling her hair slide through my fingers.

I pulled away from her finally, searching her face for any sign of discomfort or regret. She looked as blissful as I felt, and I smiled, thinking that mine and Marceline's mutual confession had certainly gone better than Marsha-

"Oh, _crap_!" I moaned, slapping a hand to my forehead.

"What's wrong?!" She demanded immediately. "Are you okay?"

"For the present moment. Marshall may kill me. Actually, scratch that, he _will _kill me." I explained what had happened before with Marsh and Fionna.

She winced. "Ouch. I should talk to him..." She grabbed my hand and took off, pulling me through the forest.

As we ran, my phone beeped twice. I pulled it out and there was a text from Bonnie.

_Hey, there's a small problem with Aunt Elizabeth. She wants to talk to you, NOW. What do you want on your gravestone? Text me back ASAP!_

My thumb flew over the keypad. _I'll be there soon, but me and Marcy have to talk to Marshall. Its really important!_

_But she's going to crack it when she hears that she's being put second! I don't wanna die with you!_

_STALL HER!_

_How?_

_I don't know, ur the smart one!_

_I hate you some days, Jerricho._

_Luv u 2, cuz, now go talk to my mother dearest._

_Fine, but no need to be sarcastic..._


	43. In The Immortal Words Of Popeye

**Marceline's P.O.V.**

I tugged Bubba through the gates of the Candy Kingdom, making a beeline for the castle courtyard. "Marshall?" I called. "You around?"

I heard a muffled groan and let go of Gumball's hand, walking around a bush to see him face-down in a patch of tall sugar-coated grass.

"Marshy!" I dived across the lawn to crouch by his side. "Marshall, are you alright?!"

"No." Came the muffled reply.

"What happened?" I asked, reaching out to gently rub his back.

"I made a little bit of an itty-bitty, teensy-weensy, tiny confession of love to Fionna, and I got stomped."

I winced. "C'mon, it can't be that bad... can it?"

**XXX**

**Gumball's P.O.V.**

When Marcy shot off Marshall, I figured she'd find some way to help him. Thus so, I set off to find Fionna.

I wandered through the castle gates, nodding to banana guards as I went past, walking through several doorways in search for the bunny-eared adventuress. I ended up going through doorway into the same sitting room where Marcy and I had watched _Heat Signature _earlier, where, unfortunately for me, my mother sat.

"Jerricho!" She squealed. "_Where_ have you been? The kingdom isn't going to rule itself, you know!"

"Um, hi, Mom." I said uncomfortably.

"Come over here, sit!" She ordered. I complied, and she started ranting at me. "So, what's this I hear about you running wild all over Ooo and Aaa? With that pair of Nightospherian throwbacks, nonetheless!"

"They're not throwbacks, Mom, they're my friends!" I said angrily.

"Well, that's something _no_ respectable person should adhere to!" She snapped. "I forbid you from going anywhere _near_ either of them _ever again_!"

"Mom! They're my friends! You've said yourself, a prince needs to keep companions, as not to create the image that he is antisocial!"

"Associating yourself with them is _worse_ than appearing antisocial!" She roared.

I swallowed. If Mom really meant it, so much for Marshall, see ya, Marcy...

"Alright, stop right there!" An all-too-familiar voice cried from the doorway.

I didn't dare look. '_Please don't be who I think it is, don't be who I'm _sure _it is...'_

I cautiously peered up as Fionna strode forward. "Who the heck do you think you _are_, lady? He's his own person!"

"Lady Elizabeth Gumball, his mother. And _who_ are you, you _brat_?!" My mother growled.

Fionna blinked, then glared at her. "The all-around heroine of Aaa. Bad guys who know me fear me, and bad guys who don't, should. Name's Fionna, and I'm no brat."

"You!" My mother's eyes flashed. "You, who constantly hangs around Jerricho, who constantly draws him away from far more important matters! Begone with you!" She yelled, pointing at the door.

"_Make me_." Fionna narrowed her eyes. "You have _no_ right to be ordering him around like that, even if you are his mom!"

My mother strode towards her, cheeks glowing with anger. "Listen, you little-"

Fi ignored her and walked around her to me. "You okay, P.G.?"

I nodded, and was about to speak, but my mother spun on her heel and screamed at Fionna.

"You rude little violent, unrespectful, bratty, insolent little girl! Didn't your parents teach you any manners?!"

Fionna twitched, eyes suddenly brimming with tears. It was a well-known fact across both Ooo and Aaa that she and her twin had been abandoned by their parents at a young age.

My mother, meanwhile, charged across the room and slapped Fionna across the face, knocking her to the ground as she shrieked at her.

You know, there's an old saying about Sucrose Sapiens that Bonnie and I both respect. 'There is only so far you can stretch a Candy Person before they snap.'

'_Well, Mom',_ I thought furiously, standing up, '_In the immortal words of Popeye, I've had all I can stands, and I can't stands no more!'_


	44. Darling Memories Of Mommy Dearest

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_

_**Me:*Is thrown from a speeding van as it tears down a remote highway* *Dusts self off, standing up and picking up rather battered yet SOMEHOW still functioning perfectly well laptop* Ow. Hey, they messed up my fez and bow tie! Darn Oooians, so globdamn PICKY about how you write about them... It has occurred to me how long this is getting, and I'm thinking I'll turn this into two stories, with a sequel after this one when I get to about Chapter 50. You guys think that's a good idea?**_

**Gumball's P.O.V.**

Okay, over the years, there have been _many_ arguments with my mother, usually with her winning.

For example, taking just one comment from each argument which I found the worst;

(When she decided that I, of course, as a prince, couldn't be a knight) '_Something so violent and sheerly distasteful as knighthood is no such hobby for a prince, a person of a higher order, of the finest calibre!'_

(When she thought I was spending too much time hanging out and playing with Bonnie as a kid (Also her taking a dig at my deceased aunt and uncle, Bonnie's parents)) '_Jerricho! I don't care if your cousin decides to waste her time with such tomfoolery, letting her kingdom fall to such ruins as her parents did, but you are not going to let this one, the Candy Kingdom of Aaa, destroy itself in such a manner!'_

(When I was 'spending far too much time with Marshall') '_Are you __**still **__hanging around with that sad excuse for a 'royal' vampire?'_

(When she decided that I couldn't throw my 'Gumball Ball') '_Really, such a trivial waste of resources, Jerricho, cannot be allowed to endure through your reign as ruler of the Candy Kingdom!'_

(After she found out that I didn't have a _hero_, but a _heroine_, A.K.A., Fionna) '_You let yourself be shown up by a woman? And a child, nonetheless! What are you thinking? Oh, she's your __**friend**__? What a pathetic excuse!'_

(Last but not least, her attacking the only real friend I had left then- Zephyr) '_What an unpleasant creature! How can you let one of those destructive __**things**_ _they call 'Storm Spirits' into the kingdom, let it near you?! I __**strongly**_ _suggest you get rid of it!'_

As you can probably guess, she thought I was well and truly hers to command, the much-adored figurehead that the whole kingdom had known since infancy. I kid you not- for some unfathomable reason, my mother let Cinnamon Bun babysit me when I was little. No offense meant to the woman, but sometimes I look back and wonder how I survived...

Anyway, my mother had made a fair few enemies during her- oh, sorry, '_Dad's_' rule, so she decided that she'd control from behind the scenes, using me as a puppet. She made me do anything she could get away with. I swear, she could have killed someone, and forced me to decree that _they_ were the guilty one! Not saying that she had me completely, though. I did draw the line at her trying to get rid of my last remaining friend.

To say the least- I had had enough.


	45. One Perfect Moment

**Gumball's P.O.V.**

As Fionna hit the ground and my mother moved toward me, my hands flew toward the first thing my eyes locked onto- her _prized_ blue crystal coffee table, carefully crafted by one of my father's old acquaintances.

I grabbed it by the legs, flipping it so that the top of it faced her. I swung my arms back, a fiery glint in my eyes as I determinedly met my mother's surprised gaze. I brought it forward.

There was almost a slow-motion moment as the tiny fragments flew in all directions. Quiet tinkling rang through the air, and in that instant everything seemed perfect. Of course,the sapphire symphony was shattered, rudely interrupted by my mother slumping to floor, unconscious, and time had the nerve to start up at full speed again.


	46. Guilt Trip Scolding From The Prince

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wheeee! Three chapters in one night! My back is gonna kill me tomorrow, because the chair for my brother's computer chair has a crappy back, but I'm having fun and making you guys happy, so I'm doing it for both of our sakes. That means you. Yes, you, reading this on your computer, or phone, or laptop, or whatever it is you use!**_

_**Well... another reason I'm doing this is because I don't wanna get kidnapped again... something about Marcy giving me a death threat that if she ever needs to scare me about the story again,it ain't gonna be pretty...**_

**Fionna's P.O.V.**

My head swam for a moment. I blinked, dazed, before a crystalline _smash_ rang through my ears. I looked up from the ground where Lady Elizabeth had shoved me after hitting me, and saw a scene that just didn't add up.

Blue crystal shards tinkled to the ground around Elizabeth, who was slumped in a heap on the ground, and P.G. had a deathgrip on a pair of legs that appeared to be suspiciously alike to those on the now-missing blue glass table. His fingers were white, and he was frozen, a statue amongst tiny, ringing sapphire flecks.

"P... Peeg?" I said uncertainly.

He gave a start, sending blue shards cascading off of his shoulders. "Fionna! Are you okay?" He ran over and skidded next to me on his knees. "_She_ didn't hurt you, did she?" He put a hand on my arm as I winced at the venom in his voice regarding his mother.

"No, I'm fine." I paused, peering at him. "What the hecks just happened, though?"

"I... snapped, I guess." He looked a little surprised at himself. "18 and a half years of her... _tyranny_, and I'm just over it. Her... attacking you was the last straw in my patience for her."

"Um... P.G., you know you can let go of the table legs now?"

"Oh! Right..." He tossed them away, blushing. They bounced off the back on Elizabeth' head, and he winced slightly.

"She's a lot stronger than I would've thought." I said, rubbing my head where it'd bounced against the floor, my cheek still smarting.

"Of course. How do you think she keeps Dad in line?"

I had no response to that.

He held out a hand to help me up. I waved him away, bracing myself on a couch arm to get up. We walked out of the room, not speaking until we were a good way down the hallway.

"By the way, Fionna, I need to talk to you about something." He looked at me.

"Er... yeah, what?" I replied.

"Have you talked to Marshall Lee lately?" He asked.

I tensed. "Oh, uh, yeah, we were talking earlier..." I said vaguely.

"Really?" He mused. "It looked more like a shooting gallery to me."

I winced. "You saw that, huh?"

"Yep, I did, _Bella_." He looked at me coldly.

I flinched a little, backing into a wall. "I... but, but I... I... didn't..." I stumbled over excuses as they flew to my lips.

"If you weren't interested, you could have at least let him down gently. You stabbed him from every which way."

I cowered slightly, pressing my back to the wall. "I... didn't mean to... I mean, I a-am so sorry, but I... I r-really-"

"Save it." He shook his head, looking at me disappointedly. "I would've thought that the most righteous, kind-hearted heroine in Aaa would at least know something as simple as apologising to someone she's hurt."

I swallowed. "Gumball, I'm not good with the touchy-feely romance stuff. You're used to dealing with any problems in your kingdom, whether you want t be a prince or not. You deal with all these big balls, and gigantic galas, you're good with people. And you sure as heck know Marshall better than me. What do I do?" I asked pleadingly.

He looked me in the eye. "Go talk to him. Apologise for what you said."

"But... he's so... jokey. He never takes anything seriously."

"He takes you very seriously, even if he's a dumbass when it comes to showing it."

My mouth was dry. "But... how am I... what am I supposed to..."

"Hang out with him a little more. He's actually a very deep guy once you get to know him, trust me."

I blinked, staring at my feet and chewing on my hair. "Okay, Peeg. I'll go talk to him." I promised.


	47. Love Guru

**Marceline's P.O.V.**

I looked at my brother. I had spent the last hour trying unsuccessfully to cheer him up.

"Dude, can you quit being such a sad sack?" I said exasperatedly. "I give up, really. I'm trying to help you!"

"Marcy, I don't think you understand. I loved Fionna. I've loved her pretty much since we met. And she goes and does something like that? I give up." He shook his head, sitting against a tree, knees drawn up to his chest. "She's too good for the likes of me..."

"You can't give up!" I cried. "You just _can't_!" I sat cross legged next to him. "Listen, you remember that brunch picnic party thing Bonnie setup for us the first day you guys were in Ooo?"

He gave a muffled affirmative.

"Well, I was talking to one of my friends, and she was pushing me to make a move on a guy she knows, and she told me something which I've found very true about love." I told him. "'You should always follow your heart, and, if you show them how much they mean to you, they can't ignore it. They'll understand, and, in time, they might even love you back.'"

He sighed. "What guru said that?"

"Cake, Lady, Jake, Incendia (Flame Princess), Simon, bits of it." I paused. "But the whole thing, all put together, was from Fionna."

He sat up, taking a deep breath. "Okay, Marcy. I'll keep trying."

"Just... don't get all in her face about it, 'kay? Just be yourself." I stood and held out a hand to help him up.

He took it and stood. "Thanks... Scales."

"No problem... Casper."


	48. Love You Too Much

**Marshall's P.O.V.**

I leaned against the wall of the castle, waiting for Fi to show up. Sure enough, after a few minutes, I heard footsteps.

"Uh... wait, I changed my mind, let's bail." Fionna whispered furiously. I, of course, with my vampire hearing, could hear every word.

"No retreat, Fionna!" There was a rustle of fabric, and Fionna was dragged around the corner by Bubba.

"Hi, Fi." I said awkwardly.

"Oh! Um, hi..." She replied in a small voice. Bubba elbowed her in the ribs, and she jumped. "I-I want to apologise for earlier. I was way outta line, and I'm sorry, and I don't want to lose your friendship, Marshall."

'_Friendzoned,_' I thought bitterly.

Bubba glared at her, and she swallowed. "I should've given you a chance before I shot you down, and I sure as heck shouldn't have been half so mean about it. I'm really sorry, Marshy." Her eyes bored into me.

What was I meant to say? 'Oh, it's okay? I should never have tried to express feelings I've been bottling up for several years?' Hell no.

"What do you want outta me, Fionna?" I stared at her. "I poured out my heart to you, and you ground it up into little meaty hunks and spat on it. Quite frankly- stealing from an old song here- I love you too much to ever start liking you, so don't expect me to be your friend. You can't expect me to be a friend to you, Fionna, when I wanna be so much more than that."

She raised her head, and I saw tears brimming on her lashes. "Listen, I'm trying to apologise here, Marshall! Stop being so-so... bitter! I know I screwed up, and I'm trying to fix it!" She yelled, taking me off guard.

"You can't 'fix it', Fionna!" I retorted. "There's only one way I can see this working out, and that's- mmph!"

I was cut off as she dived forward, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing me. '_What the...' _I thought dazedly. After a few seconds, I slowly brought my hands up to touch her back.

This caused the instant reaction of Fionna springing backwards, her face bright red. We stared at each other, speechless, for a moment, before she slapped me across the face and took off.

"Well," Bubba said, "That went better than expected."


	49. Invited

**Gumball's P.O.V.**

It was the middle of summer. Now, for some people, that means;

a) Swimming (At the beach)

b) Ice cream (At the beach)

c) Warm summer nights with someone special (At the beach)

d) Barbecues (At the beach)

and e) Volleyball (At the beach)

For me, it meant;

a) Dealing with hot, flustered and generally irritable Candy People (In the Candy Kingdom)

b) Being force-fed fancy dishes by Peppermint Maid (In the Candy Kingdom)

c) Falling into bed, exhausted, without being able to spend a single moment with Marcy

d) Hosting ball after festival after ball after gala after _friggin' ball_ (In the Candy Kingdom)

and e) Delegating (In the Candy Kingdom)

So, in between all of this _lovely_ 'summer fun', I finally managed to put aside some time to go visit Marceline.

I walked into her house, having travelled to her cave on foot. "Hey, Marcy! You in here?" I called, pushing the door closed.

"Yeah, I'm upstairs!" She yelled.

I climbed up the ladder and saw her sitting on her bed in dressing gown, biting her lip and staring at a half-packed suitcase.

"Going somewhere?" I joked, plopping down next to her and wrapping my arms around her.

"Yeah, Mom wants me back in the Nightosphere." She said.

My face fell, my stomach dropped and my arms tightened slightly around her. "Not... not _forever_, right?"

"Huh? Oh, no, of course not! You know how Marshall disappears for a week or so about every three months?"

"Um... yeah?"

"Mom and Dad get us to come home once a season to visit them." She explained. She suddenly brightened. "Hey, you could come, too!"

"Really? That'd be okay?"

"Yeah, and since Marsh and Fi have made up, she can come, too!" She said decisively.

"Okay, sounds good!" I smiled, thinking that of course, Marshall Lee and Fionna would hve no say whatsoever in this turn of events.


	50. Maloso Vobiscum Et Cum Spiritum!

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **_

_**milomeepit: Hey, everybody! Well, this is the final chapter.**_

_**Marshall: You're kidding, right?! You haven't answered a lot of questions, like who Marcy's real parents actually are, whether things are gonna work out between Fionna and me, or what's generally gonna happen next!**_

_**milomeepit: Shh! I'll talk to you after the chapter, Marshall!**_

**Marceline's P.O.V.**

"Shh! Listen! You can hear the waterfalls!" Marshall put a finger to his lips. He was sitting on a rock, knees drawn up to his chest, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

I cocked my ear slightly, and, sure enough, could hear the water rushing nearby. "Whatever. You ready to go?"

He sighed. "Yeah. I guess I gotta go home and be tortured by Mom's famous six-cheese pasta bake, endure spending hours on the beach with my friends..."

I laughed. "C'mon, you idiot."

He grinned cheekily. "Coming, Marcy." He jumped off the rock, laughing.

We walked back down the trail to the Candy Kingdom, where our suitcases were packed, and Fi and Bubba waited for us.

XXX

I squeezed Gumball's hand, grinning at him as Marshall drew that weird Phil face on the wall and Fionna got the bug juice ready.

"You ready?" He asked in a low voice.

"Yeah. What about you?" I replied.

"As long as you're here with me, I'm ready for anything." He flashed me a smile.

I smiled back. "Well, I'm a little nervous about seeing Mom and Hunson again, now I'm a Dragonkin." I confessed.

He put an arm around my shoulders. "Hey. Whatever else happens, I'll always be here, right by your side."

I bit my lip. "But... what if I did something that really hurt you, too?" I asked hesitantly.

"Then I'd forgive you for it, because that's what a fool in love does." He said smoothly.

My heart sped a little. "I love you, Prince Jerricho Bubba Lewis Gumball of the Candy Kingdom of Aaa." I touched his cheek.

"I love you, too, Marceline Abadeer of the Nightosphere, formerly of Seattle, formerly of who-knows-where." He leaned down and kissed me.

"Hey, if you two would kindly peel apart for five seconds?" Fionna yelled, making both of us jump.

"Oh, uh, right..." Bubba turned a darker pink than usual.

Marshall recited the spell boredly. "Maloso vobiscum et cum spiritum." He said, waving at Fi to throw the bug juice. She did, and the portal opened, fire licking at the edges. He grabbed Fionna and shoved her through, laughing as she squealed.

He jumped through and grinned at us. "See you on the other side!" He waved.

Gumball gripped my hand and kissed me on the cheek. "Let's go, Marcy."

"Yeah." I smiled at him.

We ran to the portal, jumping through together...

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE (v2):**_

_**Marshall: Okay, chapter's over. Explain, cause we ain't lettin' you just cut it off like that.**_

_**milomeepit: Uh, well, there's gonna be a sequel, of course, Marshall, since Marcy read Undeniable Weirdness's review and threatened that if I did that, she'd just torture me until I wrote again...**_

_**Marceline: Damn straight! I was thinking something like that demon offa Buffy. You know, the one that Wicked Willow brings up that captures and tortures Xander, Dawn and Giles, by slooooowly tearing strips of their flesh way and eating it? You know, since you've brought the Nightosphere into it, I figured demons were the way to go.**_

_**milomeepit: *Turns pale* Guuuumbaaaaall! *Runs and hides behind him***_

_**Gumball: Marcy, cut it out. She's not doing anything horrible to us, so stop scaring her.**_

_**milomeepit: Thank you. Now, as I was saying, the sequel will be called A Mended Family: On The Wings Of Dragons. If that doesn't fit, it'll be something damn similar that you'll be able to find by searching that.**_

_**Marshall: Okay...**_

_**Gumball: Get outta here, don't you have a computer to be staring blankly at as you type? *Tousles her hair***_

_**milomeepit: Too true, too true. Until the next fiction, my dear readers! Also, thank you to everyone who's reviewed, followed, favourited and supported me throughout this story, especially Undeniable Weirdness (AKA in earlier notes Florence M. Welch), bunnyloveschu, Unknownstranger3, and Kurbykakes! See you!**_


End file.
